In parts of the world, elephants are exploited for transportation, construction, logging, ceremonial use and as a tourist attraction. The elephant must obey his owner and cannot run rampant. Elephants are large animals, built to uproot trees using only their trunk, so why do they never try to leave their captivity?
When a circus elephant is young and small, a metal clasp which is attached to a heavy metal chain is tightly closed around the baby elephant’s ankle. That ankle clasp is then hammered into the ground using a thick metal stake. The elephant keeps trying to break free, but eventually the experience of powerlessness is imprinted and he stops trying.
We’ve all adopted narratives that were hammered into the ground by our families, society’s expectations or simply stories we told ourselves that we came to believe to be the truth, some so close to us that we may not even recognise them.
Shackles (2021)
H: 800cm x W:17cm x D:16cm
Materials: Acid free paper, pastel
Photographer: Sandy Connon
