‘From the War of Nature’ (Manchester Museum, 2014)

‘From the War of Nature’
(Manchester Museum, 2014)
There is nothing ‘natural’ about war
‘From the War of Nature’ was Manchester Museum’s contribution to the national programme commemorating the centenary of the First World War. The title is taken from a line in Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’. This project challenged the notion of a constant, continual ‘war in nature’ and a ‘struggle for survival’, drawing on ideas from 19th century and contemporary philosophers and biologists, to demonstrate that warfare is not a ‘natural’ state. This is far from the ‘nature red in tooth and claw’ idea that we are often presented with.
…warfare is not a ‘natural’ state
The exhibition was mostly based on the museum’s natural history collection and specially commissioned taxidermy specimens, to explore different types of interaction and conflict in the natural world, including parent–offspring conflict, predator–prey relationships, the ‘battle of the sexes’, food webs and community ecology, evolution of camouflage and mimicry, and more.

