Fat and Fluffy
“Fat and Fluffy” is a series about animals as figures of pre-ethical existence, unaware of shame or the desire to conform to an ideal. Initially, I wanted to depict my own dog, imagining her not simply as a pet, but as a being who exists beside the human, without sharing the human system of values. These animals exist outside of sin not because they are “holy,” but because they are not included in the human system of morality. Within a Christian perspective, they remain part of creation: innocent through the absence of ethical choice. In more contemporary theological thought, animals may be perceived as witnesses of the world, as a “creaturely choir” present before and after the human. In this series, dogs become a form of watchfulness: they simply accompany us, like silent observers beside human vulnerability, anxiety, and the desire to conform. Their fluffiness and almost toy-like corporeality stand in contrast to human tension: they exist in a world without shame, and this is precisely why being near them feels especially calm.
