Bonobo handshake

Oil on canvas, 101x152cm

All bonobos are bisexual and live in matriarchal groups, where female bonobos hold social power. One of the most distinctive aspects of their behaviour is their use of genital-genital rubbing (often called “GG rubbing”) to resolve conflicts and strengthen social bonds. This intimate behaviour, which occurs frequently (averaging around 13 seconds per interaction), has earned bonobos the nickname the “make- love-not-war ape.” What I find most fascinating is that bonobos are the only other animals that engage in sex face-to-face.

This painting is part of Monkey Business, an exhibition inspired by the diverse expressions of biological sex and sexual behaviour in the animal kingdom.