Macroscelides proboscideus (Round-eared elephant shrew) Possibly 1779 - 1781

This is a watercolor and pencil drawing of a Round-eared elephant shrew, created by Robert Jacob Gordon. Gordon was a Dutch explorer, military officer, and naturalist of Scottish descent, who is most known for his travels in southern Africa. During this time, the scientific gaze was a tool of colonial power, used to categorize and claim knowledge about the natural world. Gordon’s position as a military officer intersects with his scientific pursuits, reflecting the intertwined nature of exploration, science, and colonial expansion. Consider the act of naming and classifying species as an assertion of control. Indigenous knowledge and ways of relating to the natural world were often ignored or suppressed in favor of Western scientific frameworks. This image, while appearing as a neutral depiction, participates in a broader historical context of exploitation and extraction. It invites us to reflect on the power dynamics inherent in the act of representation, and to consider whose perspectives are privileged in the construction of knowledge.