Anima – Encounters with wild animals in Portugal
by André Príncipe
Anima is as much about the animals as it is the immense gulf that exists between us and them. Having spent most of his life living in large metropolitan areas,
Príncipe was hardly aware of the wildlife in Portugal. “I had no idea we had whales!”. While working on this book he came in contact with naturalists who
pointed him in the direction of prehistoric Portugal. There he learned that footprints of dinosaurs are still being found, as are the remains of bears,
elephants, and alligators. In these discoveries are traces of a time humanity lived very differently with the natural world, a time Príncipe calls, “the
childhood of man.” The early settlers of the Iberian Peninsula viewed animals as cohabitants in shared space. Príncipe was fascinated by their use of
psychedelics, how before a hunt the tribes would trip out, morphing as best they could into an animal and calling it forth from the spirit realm in the
belief they would then encounter it in the natural realm.
Part childhood fascination, part psychedelic trip, part animal encyclopedia, Anima is a rollicking journey through Portugal’s land and sea animals.
There are octopus, deer, wild hogs and whales. Squid seem to pause, staring at the artist, and vultures glance up from feeding on roadkill. Deer approach
the camera in curiosity, while the fox stays far away, nervous at the sight of a human. “Is it still possible to somehow, magically, in a childlike way
be in the wild and have some kind of interaction with an animal,” asks Príncipe. And the answer he discovered with Amina is yes.
This month, member's also recieve a collectable inkjet print.
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