A collection of blurry photos taken by a chimp, touted as his “take on the world”, is expected to fetch up to a whopping 70,000 pounds at a London auction.
Mikki, the chimpanzee, was taught to use a camera by Russian artists Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid after they discovered him at the Moscow Circus.
The 15-year-old chimp’s snaps of Moscow’s Red Square are said to represent his take on the world in a place where millions of photos are taken by tourists, The Sun reported.
The collection — called Our Moscow through the Eyes of Mikki — will be sold at an auction next month and is expected to fetch between 50,000 and 70,000 pounds.
The pictures, taken in 1998, include a shot of Mikki being taught how to hold and use a camera before he begins to shoot.
“It’s a very important piece of work, and it is very exciting to be able to sell the pictures at an auction,” Suad Garayeva, Curator of Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s, London, said.
“There’s been a lot of interest because it’s very unusual and it works on so many different levels. It’s an alternative view of Moscow as seen through an alternative vision,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“There’s been a lot of interest because it’s very unusual and it works on so many different levels. It’s an alternative view of Moscow as seen through an alternative vision,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}The sale will take place on June 5.