Robert Zhao Renhui /
Institute of Critical Zoologists
2013
‘A Guide to the Flora and Fauna of the World’ is a multi-award winning publication which accompanies the installation art piece of the same title by artist and President’s Young Talent award recipient Robert Zhao Renhui of The Institute of Critical Zoologists at the Singapore Biennale 2013.
It comprises 55 loose sheets of photographs with supporting documents that explore the myriad ways in which human intervention in science and nature have caused creatures and life-forms to evolve in often unexpected ways to cope with the stresses and pressures of an altered world.
The ‘archival box’ format was chosen as it is synonymous with the scientific-research-esque materials within, while the overall design direction appropriates diagrammatic charts, computer programming language and old software interfaces and juxtaposed with Robert’s images to suggest the human race’s use of technology and data analysis to control nature. Various types of paper and page formats were combined and employed to compartmentalise the diverse information within and to aid reader navigation.
