Sheep in the streets, 22,5×29,5cm, woodprint on paper, 2021

Sheep in the streets is a series consisting of 3 woodblock prints, 22.5 x 29.5 cm, made and exhibited during the Art Colony Festival 2021 in Suhareka. The idea behind Sheep in the streets stems from John Berger‘s observation that we don‘t encounter farm animals like sheep or chicken in cities anymore. (Berger 1980: 16) It is also a reflection on the animal liberation movement – actions to free animals from factory farming, battery farms, fur farms or vivisection laboratories.These beings would then often be released in nature or brought to animal sanctuaries. A third reference is Hartmut Kiewert‘s work, that imagines a future in which farm animals are allowed to populate our cities again. These three sources form the basis for a speculation on how architecture designed for humans could be used by sheep and what our infrastructures would look like if sheep were allowed to roam free. Being in favour of radically reducing factory farming and improving the living conditions of the animals there, the ques- tion remains whether liberating farm animals and allowing them to live with us in cities would be something the sheep themselves would benefit from. For now, it seems that cities, with their rare grasslands, cars and asphalt, are spaces that are rather hostile to animals like sheep. In any case, this series of images aims to explore the idea of sheep living freely in spaces designed for humans, while being aware of the difficulties and challenges that would arise if such a project were to be realised.