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KevinB

The Land of the Cold theming - Christmas statues and other assorted items in the Golden Eagle Aviation hangar, 2019-10-04

Pretty crazy to see a roughly 25 by 16 meter hangar with a full-sized bush plane, vehicles and a lot of other assorted random objects in a zoo, but then again at Pairi Daiza it is "merely" in the top ten of crazy things at the facility.

The Land of the Cold theming - Christmas statues and other assorted items in the Golden Eagle Aviation hangar, 2019-10-04
KevinB, 16 Oct 2019
    • DelacoursLangur
      Cant we keep the jesus stuff and the polar bears separate :rolleyes:, polar bears dont do so well in the middle east anyways... Nicholas (santa) was from Turkey anyways :D
    • KevinB
      @DelacoursLangur Putting up a nativity scene is actually a Christmas tradition in some (at least formerly/in name) Catholic countries like Belgium and I guess these statues are there to do something like that during Pairi Daiza's brief Christmas opening period. That said it was still very weird seeing these amongst all of the other items in that hangar...
    • DelacoursLangur
      @KevinB Same thing in the US, albeit its more of a celebration of consumerism their are still nativity statues. If they want to do their over the top theming they should commission Inuit artists, polar ecosystems have nothing to do with Christmas and the birth of jesus, and tbh I find it rather distasteful.
      KevinB likes this.
    • KevinB
      @DelacoursLangur I'm definitely not going to say all of the ornaments and decorations around the park were tasteful. In fact some of them were rather tacky - and I would place these statues in that category.
    • FunkyGibbon
      @DelacoursLangur But Inuit don't live in Russia, and it's a Russian-themed polar area. Also, although I couldn't find any exact demographic data, almost all I've read states that Christianity is the dominant religion amongst Inuit people today.

      (Could also point out that from context these statues are highly likely just currently placed in the hanger before Christmas, where they will be moved to an intended display location)
    • DelacoursLangur
      @FunkyGibbon If Pairi Daiza commissioned a Siberian Yupik artist to create works to display the culture and environment of his homeland, and he chose to carve the baby Jesus then color me surprised. I dont doubt that many may be Christian, but It doesn't have anything to do with the arctic environment. The only connection is that because Christmas is snowy (depending on where you live) and the arctic is snowy, some geniuses decided that they should go together. The arctic ecosystem has absolutely nothing to do with the birth of the founder of an offshoot of Judaism in the deserts of the Levant 2000 years ago, its just tacky idk.

      (A bit of a rant I know but I had time on my hands and I think these over the top themes have gotten a little out of hand...)

      Cheers!
    • FunkyGibbon
      I have no idea what that Yupik artist would carve, like you I suspect it wouldn't be a nativity scene. And yet, if you were to go to many arctic or near-arctic communities you would find churches and in those churches would be nativity scenes.

      I think that we would probably agree that having any kind of cultural depiction of human life and culture in an ecosystem area at a zoo is fraught with difficulty. The thing I personally get most uncomfortable about is that so often the theming in zoos portrays a past that is no longer relevant. So yes, Yupik bone carvings and snow block houses might be interesting and have a place. And if those carvings show the animal in the exhibit next to them so much the better. But I actually want to see a insulated house with a rifle hanging inside. I want to see how modern communities relate to and interact with nature now. And if you are building an entire themed village and those people go to church then I want to see a church. I think it's far more valid, and far less damaging, to show things as they are rather than as they were.

      Does Christianity have any connection to the polar regions? Of course not, but it has a connection to the people who live there. Religion is a human construct; sometimes it connects to the landscape around it and sometimes it doesn't.

      Also, I think we're crazy if we think that a zoo like Pairi wouldn't build a temporary, seasonal Santa's Grotto in their polar area. For people from northern countries Christmas is inextricably linked with snow, winter and older winter mythology, and I'm not sure there's anything wrong with that.
    • Maguari
      @DelacoursLangur How do you feel about all the Hindu/Buddhist(/other Asian cultures) temple architecture and statuary that abounds at Pairi Daiza (and in zoos in general)? If bears and Jesus don't mix, do orang-utans and Ganesha? In both cases the areas associated with the religion and the animals do not correspond and the religious-architecture influence on the Asian areas of the zoo is extreme!
    • DelacoursLangur
      @Maguari I think Hindu statues are distasteful as well to be honest. Personally I think zoos should have minimal cultural displays, so understand that bias when I critique cultural theming. However when it is used I agree with funkygibbon that accurate modern portrayals are often better than the often borderline human cultural displays (especially considering the history of human exhibitions in "zoos")... If done accurately and with respect, aspects of art and lifestyle relating to the human connection with the animals and the ecosystem can add an educational element, but is rarely done well.
    • gentle lemur
      I saw a woodcarver working on a section of tree trunk next to these statues. I assume that they are for a Nativity scene somewhere near the Entrance at Christmastime. I saw lots of pumpkins, fake skeletons and lurid lighting in preparation for week of Hallowe'en, when the park remains open until 9pm.
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    Date:
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