Senior year of college, I took the thesis course for art majors which allowed me to be a part of the most fun and inspiring group of artists. Along with coming up with and executing our own concept for a final project, our other challenge was to plan, design, and curate our own thesis gallery show. Having little experience in the gallery setting, this was an amazing and terrifying job. The photos below are the results of many tears, allnighters and coffee/ciggarette breaks at 4am...
Instinctual Inspiration
My photographs are intimate insights into the personalities of the individuals pictured. Through countless visits to local zoos, farms, and animal shelters, I began to grasp a new understanding and appreciation of the animals I came in contact with. While photographing, it was very important that I concentrated on one animal at a time, allowing for the most intimate and intense interaction possible. Each photograph is unique to its subject, and how they react to their environment and as well as to me.
I began photographing animals with the intent of capturing a moment that expressed the individuality of each animal. Over time, I began to get so involved in this process that my drive quickly changed from documentation to awe. I began to follow individuals for hours as they went about their daily routines, trying to get as close as I could to entering their world. The animal world is one of vitality, intensity and passion. To live as intensely in each moment, as these individuals do, a human can hardly begin to understand. It is this innate gap between humans and animals that draws me to photographing these amazing individuals. This series of photographs is an attempt to fulfill my own primal need to gain a deeper understanding of the way in which these individuals live.
