Seung Tae Hong, picture above on the left, is young Korean artist with compassion for animals who recently held an unique exhibition called Speciesism.

He was compelled to create art works that explore aspects of speciesism after being shocked by a movie detailing the horrors of the fur industry. Hong's aim was to awaken people to the plight of animals and to make them understand that animals also have rights.

While preparing his exhibition, Hong was inspired by books related to animal rights, including Peter Singer's Animal Liberation, and other sources he discovered as a part of his research.

Here is a translation from his exhibit brochure.

Animals are victimized by humans to produce items like fur coats and leather bags. Others have to suffer in restrictive and barren confinement, such as chickens, cattle, and pigs, to satisfy the appetites of meat eaters. And many are consistently subjected to artificial fertilization, such as milk cows, so that they will produce more milk. That results in shortening the length of cows’ lives. However, people are insensitive to and ignorant of these matters, even though they eat meat and drink milk everyday. This prevailing condition is caused by people regarding animals as being totally different from human beings and not having value in their own right.

When first entering the exhibit, the viewer is confronted by four pieces addressing each of these issues, as seen below.

Looking first at the small woman or "creature" seen seated on a block, we are confronted with an image of excessive and unnatural fertilization. In this stark "flesh" sculpture is a representation of what a milking cow or sow has to suffer and the cruelties involved in being forced to endure constant pregnancies.

The pregnant woman’s face expresses pain from constant artificial fertilization, frequently child birth, and breast-feeding. It is the same pain animals suffer, which humans don't seem to notice, but put in human form the anguish accompanying such unnatural treatment is now clearly perceived.

The woman's almost sow-like breasts are unnatural and tend to dispel any sense of attractiveness or beauty in her form. However, this calculated perversion actually draws attention to her status as a mammal. In effect, the viewer is reminded that humans, cows and sows are all mammals and all share similar evolutionary traits. The breasts are not only sow-like, they also match the number of teats a milking cow has.

A deliberate choice to present her in miniature adds to the perversion of the woman's sexuality. Her child-like size is uncomfortable viewing and makes her a representative of innocence, possessing the same innocence of animals who are forced into breeding as young as possible.

Another purpose of her small size is to emphasize her vulnerability. She is already an image of vulnerability in her naked state of pregnancy, but her tiny size intensifies the effect. It ensures that viewers tower over her, invariably placed in a position of dominance and power. This is designed to make the viewer reflect on their position of dominance and the way it mirrors the relationship between human exploiters and animals.

By creating a handbag to look like it was made of human skin, Hong is reminding us that the fashion industry is full of accessories made from animal skins. Most people probably never give it a second thought, and if they do, they probably never think to investigate where the skin came from and how it was obtained.

A repulsive accessory like this is something no one would want, and yet people insist on carrying around similar objects that are made of skins. With this bag, Hong wants to get people to think more deeply about accessories made from the skins of dead animals, and perhaps recognize what a strange practice it is to carry around the skins of the dead. The same goes for wearing them.

This trendy new vest complete with zipper and nipples draws attention to the leather and fur industries in their use of the skins of dead animals for fashion. Like the handbag, it confronts viewers not just with the idea of making fashion items from animals, but with the very concept itself of actually covering oneself with parts of a dead animal.

In the case of fur products, animals endure unnatural lives in small cages, they suffer appalling conditions and tortures during their lives, and in being killed they may be subjected to horrific cruelty. This shame is what our species is responsible for, and as such, it brings shame on us all.

No one would purchase products made from skin if they were human skin. So, Hong asks with these exhibits, Why purchase products made from animal skin? With these very unappealing accessories, Hong hopes that people who see this will think twice about buying animal goods.

This final piece has another small woman suspended in a cage, confined in misery. It is calling attention to the total confinement, or imprisonment from birth that is a fundamental characteristic of factory farming and other industries of animal exploitation. These industries by their very nature put profits before welfare or the feelings of a sentient being. The pack as many animals as they can in the smallest space possible to maximize profits.

The dimensions seen here are realistic with regard to what is found in the animal exploitation industries. The ratio is correct for rabbits, foxes, minks and raccoon dogs used and abused in the fur industry. It also recalls the fate of sows confined to gestation crates, or chickens in battery cages, or calves in veal boxes. Actually, the ratio here is perhaps a little more generous.

Again, we have an image of total powerlessness and vulnerability, of almost child-like innocence, and of a life without hope. This piece is a representation of all animals and birds (note the bird feeders) trapped in unnatural and miserable lives. Yet, they are in such a predicament for no other reason than they belong to a different species, which is the nature of speciesism. Human beings, quite clearly, are infinitely flexible when it comes to morality and ethics.

This is the second solo exhibit by Seung Tae Hong since his graduation from Kookmin University. Previously, he has been a part of group exhibitions, at the 2007 Under Graduate Art Galley exhibition near Hongik University and at the Galley Gak in Insadong, and his first solo exhibition was the the 2008 Velvet Incubator Opening exhibition.

Congratulations to Seung Tae Hong for creating these confronting works and for his provocative exhibition.