Warsaw's Zachęta National Gallery of Art is staging a fascinating exhibition of the animal kingdom as seen through human eyes entitled All Creatures Great and Small.

This world is depicted in its many aspects through the works of dozens of Polish and foreign artists. They explore our love for animals, the sheer pleasure of observing them and keeping them as pets and also the issues involved in consigning animal existence to ghettos known as zoological gardens.

Some of the works concern thorny issues related to consuming animals and making products from them, all the while subjecting them to suffering.

The starting point is the desire to transcend the idea of anthropocentrism which places humans at the center of the universe as a privileged species.

Many of the works restore the symbolic significance of animals in culture, a significance that has often been lost amid the relentless march of civilization.

Among the artists whose work is on show are Marina Abramovic, Charles Atlas, Peter Fischli, David Weiss, Peter Friedl, Leszek Golec, Tatiana Czekalska, Douglas Gordon, Jean-Charles Hue, Elisa Pône, Marc Quinn, Józef Robakowski, Zygmunt Rytka, Alain Séchas, Eric Swenson, William Wegman, Robert Breer, Paweł Więckowiak and The Wooster Group.

M.R.

Until Feb. 21
Zachęta National Gallery of Art, 3 Małachowskiego Sq.
tel. 22 556 96 55
For further information, go to www.zacheta.art.pl