Project

Malus Lupus is a critique of the division that the wolf causes in Belgian communities. Through literature research, I discovered that many attitudes from the 16th-18th centuries that led to wolves being hunted to extinction are re-emerging now that wolves have returned to Belgium. I compiled my research into a story about a fictional researcher who attempts to trace the origins of the Big Bad Wolf archetype. The return of the wolf causes a split in Belgian society: one group that is happy with the wolf's return and another group that believes the wolf does not (or no longer) belong in Belgium. The aim of my project was to create something that could reconcile these two groups. To track the messages of anti-wolf groups, I created a Twitter account under the name Johan Vandenberg: my alter-ego. I noticed that those with a negative attitude towards the wolf's return to Belgium express concerns about wolves similar to those of Belgians in the 16th to 18th centuries. This connection was initially what inspired me to do this project: I wanted to prevent negative stereotypes about wolves from again leading to mass culling of these animals. I looked at messages from organizations like Nowolves Benelux and got the impression that informing the public about wolves through nature organizations like Landschap VZW was not an effective way to change the opinions of opponents. They believed they already possessed all relevant information. Therefore, I chose a completely different—albeit experimental—approach for my project. Instead of directly attempting to correct the opinions of anti-wolf activists by showing them the 'facts', I completely reframed the issue. Instead of asking "Should we be afraid of wolves?", I asked: "Are you afraid of the right wolf?" By reframing the fundamental questions at the heart of the entire issue, I hoped that a new discussion would emerge that would set aside existing polarizing arguments. Ultimately, I created an illustrated book in which the fictional researcher Johan Vandenberg wrote the text and I created the illustrations myself. In the text, Johan suggested that fairy tales about wolves are not complete fiction. He theorized that the figure of the Big Bad Wolf originates from a time when a specific type of wolf roamed the land: namely a subspecies that he called Malus Lupus. He speculates in his text that this subspecies arose as a result of unintentional cross-breeding between wolves and dogs over dozens of generations. As a result, the Malus Lupus subspecies lacked the natural human-shyness that is characteristic of the grey wolf. This caused their problematic behavior and gave rise to the stereotype that wolves were insatiable, man-eating beasts. He concluded the book with the assertion that Malus Lupus were the real troublemakers and that the species went extinct in the 18th century, along with the rest of the wolf population in Belgium.