Rattenhausen

From the Series Territories

Sabine Wild

I have been photographing cages for ten years for the series Territories. I am interested in an architecture of staged spaces and props that reference nature. Currently, I am focused on cages for rats, which has resulted in this photo series, Rattenhausen.

How are animals’ living spaces represented here? How do the cages fit into the furnishings in the living room, bedroom, and kitchen, how do humans and animals distance themselves from one another? Are they interconnected?

People share furniture with rats—beneath the table is an outdoor enclosure, a hiding place is tucked away beneath the couch. Some do without a room so that the rats can move freely; the cages are worlds of experience for our little friends. Cardboard rolls, drain pipes, bread baskets, bits of fabric, bushes, and rope provide them with a home more fantasy-filled than many human inhabitants are able to create for themselves.

Rat friend Gerda N.: “Here’s the sleeping house: the best viewing platform in the world. You can snuggle in a hammock here and watch people!”