Bound to Us, an exhibition on show 19th June to 29th August, explores the complex and inescapable relationships between humans and animals across cultures, belief systems, and environments.

Animals shape human life in countless ways: as companions, sources of food and labour, objects of entertainment, spiritual figures, and symbols of cultural identity. These roles are shaped by tradition, religion, economy, and ecology, and reflect both care and exploitation.

Bound to Us considers how animals carry meaning beyond their physical presence. They may be revered as sacred beings, protected as endangered species, tolerated or vilified as pests, or consumed and controlled. These contradictions reveal how human values determine which animals are cherished, which are overlooked, and which are sacrificed.

Placing beauty and discomfort side by side, the exhibition reflects on what emerges from these relationships: devotion, companionship, and conservation alongside harm, loss, and imbalance. Bound to Us invites viewers to consider responsibility, power, and the enduring bond between humans and animals — a bond that shapes both worlds and leaves neither unchanged.

Green Hill Arts is open 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, Wednesday to Saturday. Entry is free. The gallery is located at the top of Fore Street, Moretonhampstead, near the Parish Church, with parking available in Court Street and Station Road car parks.

Guest curated by Emma and Richard Smith. Featured photograph by Juliette Mills.