White Bear

  • Dates
    2014 - Ongoing
  • Author
  • Topics Contemporary Issues, Documentary

"White Bear" depicts polar bears in captivity and their artificial habitats globally; it also attempts to shed light on issues concerning captive animals-exhibits. Currently, the project was executed in 26 sites across Europe and China. Medium: Photographs, Videos, Documents#EarthDay

"White Bear" depicts polar bears in captivity and their artificial habitats globally; it also attempts to shed light on issues concerning captive animals-exhibits. Currently, the project was executed in 26 sites across Europe and China.

"White Bear" is not about polar bears — it studies the visible symptoms amid animals on display and their artificial habitats by focusing on one specific species. These habitats are designed to satisfy both the spectators (audience) and the dwellers (animals). In other words, with their effort to mimic the arctic environment, the uncanny structures combined “nature”, "home" and “stage”. Juxtaposed with man-made backgrounds, the enclosures and their furry protagonists formed visions filled with contrasting elements — grasslands, plateaus, swimming pools, car tires, fake seals, stone stairs, painted icebergs, yachts, airplanes, and even skyscrapers. Under limited space and resources, there are various issues lurking beneath their surfaces.

Due to climate change and the resulting habitat loss, it may sounds reasonable to keep and nourish vulnerable species in controlled environments; however, for certain species, reintroduction is not trivial. In fact, according to EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria), there has never been any possible reintroduction program for polar bears due to the diminishing habitats.

Maintaining the welfare of zoo animals is an intricate task that juggles the constraints of expense and enclosure sizes — a delicate balance that may easily be disrupted. The existence of white bears in exhibits portrays the ambiguity of modern zoos. Almost always promoted as exotic tourist-magnets, the bears are often the singularity points at which contemporary justifications of zoos falls into question — the mission of conservation, research and education seem challenged by the interest of entertainment.

Photograph dimensions: 110cm(H) x 138cm(W)

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Video: The March of the Great White Bear (3'29")

Stereotypical behaviour (neurotic repetitive motion) are common among captive polar bears; they are recorded in videos "The March of the Great White Bear": www.shengwenlo.com/video

Project consultants:

*Tzu-Yun Teng/ PhD Candidate, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney

*I-lly Cheng/ Composer-Live Electronics, Conservatorium van Amsterdam

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Dalian Forest Park, China (2015)Car tire were provided, as a common enrichment in China sites.
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Dalian Forest Park, China (2015) Car tire were provided, as a common enrichment in China sites.

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Image from the White Bear photography project
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Hagenbeck - Tierpark, Deutschland (2014) The stones (possibly made from glass fibre) are hollow inside to held the educational walkway structure.

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Image from the White Bear photography project
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Wuppertal Zoo, Deutschland (2014) In the foreground is a sea-lion-shaped float board. However, the bears nowadays were born in captivity. They should not have known what a sea lion is. Nor have they seen real icebergs.

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Image from the White Bear photography project
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Nanjing Underwater World, China (2015) The only site which people can pay and feed the white bear (for 3 euros). The session lasted all day even when the bear had no desire to eat.

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Monde Sauvage", Aywaille, Belgium (2014)
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Monde Sauvage", Aywaille, Belgium (2014)

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Diergaarde Blijdorp (Rotterdam Zoo), Netherlands (2016)Sizzel and Todz b. 2014, 2. Dec. Father Erik deceased in Feb. 2015.
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Diergaarde Blijdorp (Rotterdam Zoo), Netherlands (2016) Sizzel and Todz b. 2014, 2. Dec. Father Erik deceased in Feb. 2015.

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Image from the White Bear photography project
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WILDLANDS Adventure Zoo Emmen, Netherlands (2016) Lale (right, b. 2013) is older than her aunt and uncle Sizzel and Todz (b.2014) in Rotterdam.

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Aquazoo Friesland, Netherlands (2016)
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Aquazoo Friesland, Netherlands (2016)

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Dalian Forest Park, China (2015)
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Dalian Forest Park, China (2015)

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Zoo Praha, Czech Republic (2014)
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Zoo Praha, Czech Republic (2014)

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Zoo Berlin, Deutschland (2014)Two of the bears in this picture, Nancy and Tosca, deceased after my visit in 2014.
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Zoo Berlin, Deutschland (2014) Two of the bears in this picture, Nancy and Tosca, deceased after my visit in 2014.

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Image from the White Bear photography project
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Xi'an Qujian Polar Ocean Park, China (2015) In China, polar bears are mostly kept indoors. In this case the park is located on Loess Plateau (yellow earth plateau). According to the park, the enclosure was designed with Loess Plateau aesthetics to satisfy the imagination of local people.

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Image from the White Bear photography project
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Wuhan Haichang Polar Ocean World, China (2015) The two bears of Haichang Group are not real polar bears, they are a mix-breed of brown of white bears. The park labeled them as polar bears.

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Beijing Zoo, China (2015)A roadway passes on top of the enclosure; it was capsulated to shield traffic noise.
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Beijing Zoo, China (2015) A roadway passes on top of the enclosure; it was capsulated to shield traffic noise.

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Image from the White Bear photography project
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Highland Wildlife Park, Kincraig, Scotland (2014) One of the rare cases located near the arctic circle, where artificial infrastructures are not required for the bears.

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Exhibition view: Lianzhou Foto Festival, China, 2016
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Exhibition view: Lianzhou Foto Festival, China, 2016

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Documents: Flyers and maps, Europe
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Documents: Flyers and maps, Europe

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Documents: Flyers and maps, China
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Documents: Flyers and maps, China

© Sheng-Wen Lo - Image from the White Bear photography project
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Map of Polar Bears in Captivity (2014) Red pins are sites visited. As of july, 2014, there are 291 polar bears living in full captivity on Earth. View in Google Map Engine: <a href="https://goo.gl/dhiHRr" target="_blank">https://goo.gl/dhiHRr</a>

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