BERLIN, GERMANY
Liz and Lee Heidhues
November 23, 2023
We were stopped dead in our tracks when we walked into a cavernous room at the Berlinische Galerie and saw four animal carcasses splayed across the floor.
Imagine the adrenaline rush.
Nasan Tur has created a very sobering exhibit titled HUNTED.
Why does mankind kill for sport?
It shows the agony of the animals. The helplessness.
What stops animals from killing humans while humans have willfully killed animals for centuries worldwide?
Nasan Tur interviewed several German forestmeisters whose job was to kill animals. Deer. Foxes. Boar. Predator birds.
Ask five people why they kill animals. The listener will hear five different answers.
All the hunters except one explained and rationalized their professional addiction to the HUNTED.
For many hunters it is a stress relief. It allows the predatory hunters to share a sense of camaraderie and shared values in the HUNTED.
The hunters essential pastime is killing unsuspecting animals. The hunters wait sometimes for hours to slaughter their unsuspecting prey.
The hunters in the HUNTED consider it an enjoyable hobby.
How can anyone who kills an unsuspecting fawn enjoy the HUNTED?
One forestmeister was unable to engage in the kill. He was ridiculed and vilified by his comrades.
The exercise of killing and rationales for its legitimacy requires mental gymnastics and torturous logic. How much violence do we harbor within us. How is it triggered.
We had gone to the Berlinische Galerie to tour the feature exhibit. Room after room of Edvard Munch artwork. Which was literally standing room only. The HUNTED room was almost totally ignored.
The bodies of the lifeless carcasses were out of place in the minds of the predominately baby boomers viewing Edvard Munch.
It’s fair to presume a number of Edvard Munch visitors have, and still do, participate in The HUNTED.
Lee's Perspective 