VIA DELLA FORNACE 41 50125 FIRENZE
Charlotte Dumas
Born in the Netherlands in 1977, Charlotte Dumas is a photographer and video artist whose work investigates how we define the value of animals and ourselves as humans. She explores the contradiction between animals used as food resources and those given anthropomorphic roles. From Retrieved, about 9/11 rescue dogs, to Stay, on endangered Japanese horse breeds, her work delves deeply into human-animal relationships. Since 2012, she has incorporated video into her practice, starting with Anima, filmed at Arlington National Cemetery. Her short films include The Widest Prairies and a Japan-based trilogy: Shio, Yorishiro, and Ao. She has published over ten photo books.
Charlotte Dumas
Born in the Netherlands in 1977, Charlotte Dumas is a photographer and video artist whose work investigates how we define the value of animals and ourselves as humans. She explores the contradiction between animals used as food resources and those given anthropomorphic roles. From Retrieved, about 9/11 rescue dogs, to Stay, on endangered Japanese horse breeds, her work delves deeply into human-animal relationships. Since 2012, she has incorporated video into her practice, starting with Anima, filmed at Arlington National Cemetery. Her short films include The Widest Prairies and a Japan-based trilogy: Shio, Yorishiro, and Ao. She has published over ten photo books.
Ao 青 (‘Blue’)
01.12.2022 – 08.01.2023
Animals are not mere passive subjects, but sentient, pulsating beings with whom a deep and mysterious form of communication can emerge. Charlotte Dumas’ love for horses has led her on a journey spanning more than twenty years, taking her all the way to the remote Japanese island of Yonaguni, near Taiwan, to explore the role these animals still play in our contemporary world. The millennia-old bond between humans and horses has been fundamental to the development of human civilization.
After publishing ten photobooks and producing six short films that dynamically capture the fluidity of… bodies and herds, Dumas arrives at Rifugio Digitale with a site-specific exhibition drawn from her projectsShio, Yorishiro, and Ao—all created on the island of Yonaguni. The exhibition, the second chapter of the SuperNatural series, presents nature in the form of wild horses and the island’s rugged, ancestral landscape. The human dimension is embodied by three young girls: Yuzu, daughter of a horse trainer from Okinawa, and Avis and Ivy, the photographer’s own daughters. These young protagonists symbolize the possibility of a genuine and symbolic dialogue with the land and its creatures, ideally bridging the distance that separates us from nature. Dumas’ intimate and visual narrative invites us to reflect on our relationship with the living world, reactivating an ancient and profound interspecies bond. 
