'Zoo search' is a photographic series started in 2019, observing the design and aesthetics of architecture and infrastructure of different zoological parks present in the cities where I was living, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Bratislava. Zoo architecture became the subject of portraits to angles, objects and elements of a space where animal and human are constantly connected. On each visit to the zoo, I would ask myself the fundamental question ‘Who is this space really meant for?’. 

Observing the aesthetics and function of the architectural components - windows, doors, entrances and exits dedicated to different human and animal ‘audiences’ - led me to reflect on how these spaces are designed. Perhaps not only for the animals that live there in captivity but also, and above all, for the humans that visit them to observe, learn or be entertained. Yet, this duality seems to contain a tension: the zoo is designed to safeguard the animal but at the same time its design seems to be aimed at satisfying the eye of the visiting human public.

Observing the various windows, doors, entrances and exits of captive animals, humans working inside the parks, and visiting humans, I reflected on the hypothesis of finding meeting points and, as a careful observer, I began to wonder not only about the aesthetics of the zoo, but also about the ethical and emotional meanings hidden behind it. This container seemingly designed for the observation of nature is, in reality, influenced by the needs and desires of human beings. 

In reflecting on this multitude of roles and my own presence within them, I began to see the zoo as a mirror of our relationship with nature, a place where human interest and animal welfare are constantly in the balance. The zoo predestined me to observe, to take on different roles, but at the same time confronted me with an uncomfortable question: ‘Who really benefits from these spaces? Animals or humans? And how does this tension influence our perception of the natural world?’.