'Animal Selves', a porcine girl in a moment of self-reflection, invites viewers to reconsider their relationship with nature. Pigs are among the most intelligent domesticated animals, outperforming three-year-old children and dogs in cognitive ability tests. They can empathise with human emotions and express their own through twenty distinct sounds. The girl’s mask symbolises societal expectations that, as we mature, we distance ourselves from our instinctual, unfiltered connections with nature.
Photographing his sculpture in real-world settings, Drayton crafts a narrative where the porcine girl meets a human girl and her hound in a wooded bushland. Together, they explore and learn about themselves and each other, challenging viewers to embrace our shared origins and to recognise animals as sentient beings.
