Untitled (animal in pen, side of head) c. 1950

Editor: Here we have an untitled photograph by Jack Gould of what looks like an okapi in a pen. The image is a negative, which gives it a ghostly quality. What symbols do you see at play here? Curator: The negative image immediately evokes a sense of something hidden, inverted. The animal behind bars speaks to captivity, but the okapi itself is a symbol. Editor: How so? Curator: Okapis are rarely seen, almost mythical. This photograph perhaps captures a modern myth, the rare animal, caged and observed, removed from its natural context, its power diminished. Editor: That’s a powerful perspective. It really changes how I see the photograph. Curator: Consider too, the bricks of the pen – repeated shapes acting as a visual cage within a cage. What does the animal in captivity represent to you?