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Supervisor: Kaspar Tamsalu, Triinu Soikmets 

Consultant: Kadri Taperson

 

The practical part of my thesis is a series of oil paintings titled “The Trilogy of Dissonance.”  The titles of the paintings (from left to right) are “Doubt,” “Dilemma,”and “Clarity.” The starting point for the work was the artistic representation of cognitive dissonance, as a phenomenon that enables speciesism (species chauvinism). The project is influenced by my personal paradigm shift – from a speciesist worldview when other species is believed to exist for human benefit, to veganism, which recognizes that all animals, including humans, have intrinsic value and the right to bodily integrity. 

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​Drawing on the principles of intersectional feminism, I examine the challenges faced by various minority groups in human society, comparing these to the treatment animals receive. I raise the question of what speciesism has in common with other forms of oppression, such as ableism and othering. As my decision, this painting series contains no visual reference to speciesism; instead, I focus on the cognitive dissonance that arises in the human psyche. Theme centers on the animal at the top of the power dynamic – the human. The paradox lies in the fact that when people begin to perceive the interconnectedness of different forms of oppression, it deepens the understanding that we ourselves are not immune to the effects of speciesist violence. 

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​The resulting series builds upon my solo exhibition “Shared Space” (Tartu Art House, October 11 – November 10, 2024). That earlier series centered on a symbolic dialogue between two female individuals of different species – a woman and a chicken. With this I referred the potential for empathy in human society through self-reflection.