In Angels never die, we are invited to follow a white poodle—just as Alice follows the ever-hurried White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. Traditionally, white symbolizes purity, innocence, and lightness. Yet in Lewis Carroll’s tale, the white rabbit also embodies anxiety, urgency, speed, and pressure—apt metaphors for the world we live in today. Always in a rush, and yet always too late. Never enough, even when we give everything. Is that healthy? Animals, by contrast, stand for slowness, presence, and mindfulness. What we might learn from them is how to fully inhabit the present moment—and through that, rediscover the power of our own vitality. In Anouk’s world, the white rabbit becomes the white poodle. Poodles are an ancient breed, first described in 1555 by Conrad Gessner. With their high-maintenance coats, they epitomize domestication—but like all animals, they embody presence, here and now. The second dog Anouk ever had, and the first as a young adult, was a small white poodle named Ava.
Angels never die.
“Human friendly” is a new edition of 80 wall sculptures crafted in the style of classical brass signs.
The text is adapted from pre-existing public notices — those familiar everyday signs that declare a place to be “dog friendly.” In this work, only a single word has been altered: “dog” becomes “human.” This subtle yet decisive shift exposes the contradiction inherent in such formulations. It acts as a mirror, reflecting the paradoxical relationship that humans — still deeply entangled in speciesist thinking — maintain with their fellow living beings.
By merely changing one word, the work invites viewers to question the assumed hierarchy between species, and the anthropocentric framework that governs our perception of coexistence. The notion of “friendliness” is revealed as a self-serving construct — an expression of human dominance disguised as benevolence. The sculptures gently mock the comforting image of humanity as kind or compassionate toward other species, revealing instead an attitude rooted in control, ownership, and selective empathy.
In this way, “Human friendly” becomes both a poetic and critical gesture. It transforms a banal linguistic formula into a space of reflection, compelling the observer to reconsider what it truly means to live in friendly relation — not only with humans, but with all beings who share our world.
