Merri-bek City Council
Four-colour lithographic offset print on Fabriano Artistico 300gsm traditional white hot-press paper, Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison, Turning the Tables on Alfred Court, 2013
Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison have been creative collaborators since 1999, working together to make artist books, zines, collages, drawings, prints and stories. In this artwork, the animals have the upper hand. They are turning the tables on French acrobat, circus owner, and animal trainer, Alfred Court (1883-1977).
In 1925, Court's menagerie boasted a collection of 25 lions, 8 tigers, 9 hyenas, 7 wolves, 3 cougars, 12 polar bears, 16 panthers and leopards, 5 jaguars, 2 cheetahs, and an extensive assemblage of exotic animals, including antelopes, llamas, and camels, alongside several monkeys, porcupines, and mongooses. Haby and Jennison’s collaboration explores their mutual fascination with the adaptable possibilities of paper and found images.