meat.gun.smoke

meat.gun. smoke A portrait series reflecting on a visceral subject in an organic and conceptual way - the primordial bonds between human and animals.

meat.gun. smoke

After a steak braai (cookout) on a cattle farm in Balgowan, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Elliott (6) in minecraft pyjamas sees the jagged outline of a weapon on his father’s plate. He grabs the 'meat gun' by the handle and goes to play under the trees. ‘It smells so good’, he says, closing his eyes for a long time. Is he thinking, like I am, about the complicated relationship that humans have with animals? We love them, but so easily extinguish them for food. He opens his eyes and whips the bone around. Suddenly it’s a revolver, pointing at my face. I back away, feigning fear. We are laughing, but I am thinking about how we are the architects of our extinction -we kill them, we kill us. Meat, Gun, Smoke. Smoking gun. ‘When you blow out a candle the smoke is like God is leaving’, he says.