Considering precision livestock farming, the project Unleash Your Herd’s Potential takes cattle as an animal broken to the algorithm and reflects on surveillance, exploitation and our relationship to nature. The work addresses these issues by rendering cows and their environment using photogrammetry. Employing this 3D-scanning technique results in a work characterised by a 21st-century bucolic imagery in which the datafied existence of animals belongs to an increasingly technological landscape perceived through digital means. Besides moving and still images, the work comprises a collection of salt licks, providing a counterpoint by bringing in materiality and the agency of the cows. Szalai's exhibition is supported by the Blue Planet Foundation Hungary.
BIO:
Daniel Szalai (b. 1991) is a Hungarian artist. His works investigate peculiar manifestations of human-animal relationships and reflect on ecological, societal, political and economic anomalies. Szalai studied photography at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest and the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and holds a degree in Art and Design Theory. His works were presented internationally at solo and group exhibitions and published widely in online and print media. He received the Carte Blanche Award at Paris Photo 2018 and the LensCulture Emerging Talent Award 2019 among other prizes. Szalai's first book Novogen was published in 2021 by The Eriskay Connection. He lives and works in Budapest.
