Hobart – As Australia is buzzing over news that Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) will play Wu-Tang Clan’s largely unheard album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, this month, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has asked the venue’s director to also show RZA’s famous video about speciesism – in which he advocates for treating everyone with respect – while also serving only plant-based foods at Mona’s eateries during the exhibition.
“Adding these simple but important elements to the June events would turn the listening party into a wholistic experience that reflects a truth that more and more people – including most members of Wu-Tang Clan – know: all living, feeling beings are individuals, and their lives are intrinsically important,” writes PETA Campaigns Advisor Mimi Bekhechi.
From confining live fish to a plate to inviting the slaughter of an animal during Dark Mofo, Mona has long been criticised for its abuse of animals. In its letter, PETA offers the venue a “shot at redemption” it could receive by showcasing “a visually stunning reminder that no matter what race, age, gender, or species we are, we are all the same in all the ways that matter”.
The video, which employs a morphing effect to turn humans into other animals and vice versa, is designed to challenge the erroneous and prejudicial belief that humans are superior to other species, when in reality, all animals feel love and joy as well as frustration, anguish, and pain – especially when confined, exploited, and slaughtered for human enjoyment. As RZA says in the video, “Our task must be to break free from prejudice and to see ourselves in everyone else.”
PETA’s letter to Mona is available here.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.au and follow the group on Facebook and Instagram.
Contact:
Sascha Camilli: Media@peta.org.au
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