It took me few minutes of encountering with these amazing animals to keep my mind rolling again on how we are trained to be able to change our perception from one moment to another: to see an animal and few seconds later, sit on a table and eat it. Maybe we have just accepted it as a “that’s the way things work”.
As a designer, an observer and a visual perception & communication researcher I tend to filter all things as objects to Does the absence of form -when we see a stake instead of the whole pig- makes it easier to emotionally detach ourselves from the actual animal? Maybe yes maybe not but there are case when the whole animal is on the table but still we are trained that this is ok. But I will not forget the first time as a kid this was really off to me. I remember the time during Easter, when I saw the whole head of the
“Sus scrofa domesticus“
I really took my time to approach the mother, let her smell me, see me and then the piglets came around sniffing at each other and on the soil. Their little dance to move around was cute and humble. They kept putting their round noses on the ground like crazy. It seems this is called “rooting” and it is known to also be used as a means of communication.
Pigs have a sense of taste that is similar to humans, and can discriminate between sweet, sour, salty, and bitter tastes1.
“Domesticated pigs are generally quite social animals and do enjoy the company of their own species.”
In 2020, I saw the short movie “Goads” from Iris Baglanea and I loved the
Readings & sources / Αναγνώσεις & πηγές:
ACS Distant Education: ACS Distant Education
Farmers Weekly: Guide to understanding what pig behaviour is telling you
Animal behaviours: Pigs
The Pig Site: Behaviour