Mo Ganji: Cotton Top Tamarin | Lisztaffe | Saguinus oedipus | No. 062/250 from work group 8/99

Cotton Top Tamarin | Lisztaffe | Saguinus oedipus

Mo Ganji’s single line frames the cotton-top tamarin — a small New World primate distinguished by its dramatic white crest — as a gesture that reduces the animal’s presence to one essential contour. The continuous line suggests just enough form to hint at a tamarin, yet holds itself open to other readings. By stripping away detail, Ganji invites viewers to meet the being before concept or classification takes precedence.

Saguinus oedipus is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. Endemic to the tropical forests of northwestern Colombia, the species has suffered severe population declines due to habitat loss, fragmentation and historical capture for the pet trade and biomedical research. Today, only small, isolated groups persist in increasingly reduced forest patches.

Major threats include deforestation for agriculture and cattle ranching, urban expansion, and the breakdown of continuous canopy structure essential for the tamarin’s movement and safety. As fragments shrink and become separated, groups lose access to adequate food resources and face heightened risks from predators and human disturbance. Low genetic exchange between groups further undermines long-term viability.

Ganji’s single line creates a moment of stillness in which the tamarin’s presence can surface without the weight of labels. The distilled outline suggests a being whose existence extends beyond the grids of human taxonomy — and quietly recalls that our imagined separation from nature often blinds us to how deeply our actions shape the futures of the lives entwined with our own.