Sophie Green’s Commodities Exhibition Opens in Dubai
Sophie Green at Gallery27, Dubai | ©️Fahad Siddiqui
Acclaimed contemporary artist, Sophie Green, has opened her Commodities exhibition in Dubai at Gallery 27, Dubai Marina. Following its successful launch in London last year, the provocative and eye-opening collection continues to spark critical dialogue around wildlife conservation, consumerism, and humanity’s complex relationship with the natural world.
On Wednesday evening, 21st January, Green attended a reception evening to celebrate the opening of her debut solo show in the Middle East, where she was joined by art collectors and critics.
Green gave a talk to guests, in which she explained her motivations behind putting together the collection and what she hoped viewers would take away from the photorealistic pieces.
Commodities is a bold commentary on the commodification of wildlife, drawing unsettling parallels between the exploitation of animals and the consumer-driven society that enables it. The collection was first exhibited at The Vaults in London, underneath Waterloo Station in a show she named ‘The Saddest Show on Earth’. Following the success of this show, the collection went on to be showcased at the prestigious Royal Society of Arts in London, before continuing its journey to the UAE. Now presented to an international audience in Dubai, the collection’s message feels both timely and universal.
Sophie Green alongside the collection at Gallery27, Dubai | ©️Fahad Siddiqui
The exhibition arrives amid a broader cultural moment, in which artists are increasingly using their work to spotlight environmental and ethical concerns. Much like the recent wave of high-profile street art by Banksy, Green’s work offers a complementary and deeply considered perspective, rooted in realism, symbolism, and activism. Her Commodities collection deepens the global conversation on conservation and the role contemporary art can play in driving awareness and change.
With a growing base of high-profile supporters, Green’s meticulously detailed, photorealistic paintings have raised six figures for conservation and environmental causes and are held by collectors around the world.
Drawing inspiration from Dante’s Divine Comedy, Rodin’s Le Penseur , and even the controversial aesthetics of modern haute couture, Green, who is outspoken about using art as a vehicle for positive change, says of the collection: “This is not a celebration of nature.”
Sophie Green at Gallery27, Dubai | ©️Fahad Siddiqui
Instead, Green describes Commodities as an “inferno”: a stark examination of the “bizarre and entitled” ways humans objectify and consume the natural world. The collection depicts animals posed on plinths against stark white backgrounds, evoking museum displays or luxury showrooms. Through the use of white space, contrast, and unsettling stillness, Green forces the viewer into an uncomfortable confrontation with how wildlife is displayed, valued, and ultimately exploited.
Described by National Geographic as “a bridge between photography and reality,” Green’s work has previously been exhibited at the Houses of Parliament, COP26, and numerous high-profile, star-studded auctions. In 2022, she donated 30% of her Impermanence collection to conservation initiatives, raising £90,000 for wildlife causes.
Reflecting on the collection, Green states:
“This is wildlife void of both ‘wild’ and ‘life’. A world where we exhibit the most beautiful creatures on this planet on plinths like museum artefacts is not far removed from the one we live in today, where animals are used for fashion, entertainment, food, sport, and labour.”
The Commodities exhibition at Gallery27, Dubai, invites audiences to confront these uncomfortable realities and reconsider the true cost of consumerism on the natural world.