Pygmy Hippopotamus, National Zoo, Washington, D.C. 1986

Curator: Volker Seding’s 1986 photograph, "Pygmy Hippopotamus, National Zoo, Washington, D.C.," captures two hippos in their enclosure. It’s a striking image. Editor: Stark. My immediate feeling is… melancholy. The concrete and utilitarian structure contrasts sharply with the life it contains. The photograph exudes the stillness and muted palette of captivity. Curator: Indeed. Seding, as a documentarian, invites us to consider the role of zoos as institutions and how we relate to the natural world through them. Notice the sharp geometric forms—the harsh lines of the enclosure contrasting the soft organic forms of the hippos. Editor: The geometry really does amplify the imposed order on these animals. It also seems that there's a cultural tension here, an older system in play with contemporary culture's values for wild things, rendered so placid in water. Curator: Precisely. Water is powerfully symbolic, right? It connects to the fluidity of nature. And that's what the image reveals, that even contained, there is an uncontainable aspect that still resonates. It shows that, even within these spaces of control, the essence of animal life—adaptation and serenity—persists. The muted tones also have a quality similar to the Depression era WPA photography style, when photographers explored what was lost. Editor: And the hippo itself! Its image across cultures can be a mix of reverence and fear. In some, a deity connected to strength and aggression, while others saw hippos symbolizing maternal protection. But here? Reduced to an object of observation. The visual rhetoric employed truly encourages analysis beyond mere seeing. Curator: That makes me reflect. This piece creates space to really think through both conservation and the politics of display. The photograph itself freezes a moment, forcing a stillness we rarely get when observing animals. It’s a potent tension to negotiate. Editor: Well, I won't forget this image quickly, that's for sure. Thanks for unraveling its significance for me today. Curator: My pleasure, this certainly has been a very rich, if sobering, discussion.