‘HIDDEN: Animals in the Anthropocene’ is a photography book with shocking images of animals suffering in a human environment. It shows the lives of animals we use for food, clothes, research, work and entertainment.
The book was created by photojournalist and animal rights activist Jo-Anne McArthur: “The animals we use most in our daily lives are hidden. They’re hidden away in factory farms, fur farms, and in labs that use them in research and testing. They are also hidden euphemistically; we don’t say we’re eating a calf, for example. We say we’re eating veal.”
“It’s very clear to me that we can only change suffering if it’s out in the open and if we don’t turn away from it,” McArthur said. “These photos prove there is an emergency confronting animals globally, from industrial farming to climate change, and provide valuable insight into the relevance of animal suffering to human health.”
HIDDEN shows the work of 40 award-winning photojournalists who have documented animal stories. Their difficult work has resulted in some of the most compelling and historic images of animals ever seen.
“The photojournalists featured in HIDDEN have entered some of the darkest, most unsettling places in the world,” actor Joaquin Phoenix, who wrote the book’s foreword, said. “The images they have captured are a searing reminder of our unpardonable behavior towards animals and will serve as beacons of change for years to come.”
McArthur’s previous books are We Animals and Captive. We talked to Jo-Anne McArthur about her work, her colleagues and the importance of animal photojournalism, which is almost similar to war photography.
THANK YOU for this online interview. Couldn’t watch all of it (the turtle torture footage) but kept listening. Massive respect and thanks to Jo-Anne McArthur for documenting the worst abuses humans inflict on trillions of sentient beings. Amazing that you are continuing this vital and horrendously difficult work.