This project is something I really feel enthusiastic about. As a photographer I need to get out of my comfort zone: the way I shoot these pictures is different from what I normally do and of course I have no control over my subject, the animals. They have to look straight into my camera, which is really hard. Nonetheless this is what is so exciting about it: the interaction with the animals. I can only approach animals and see how they react. This whole project is based on respect towards the animals I approach. If I don’t show respect, this whole project will be a failure, as I won’t be able to take the pictures I want. If an animal wants me to go away, I go away; if it is curious, then I can try to take some pictures, but still I fully depend on how the animal behaves.
This brings me to the reason I chose this project: I want to show that animals are individuals, with their own characters, just like humans. It is strange that we tend to forget that animals are much like humans when we use animals for food, for entertainment, for clothing, etc. I believe animals have the will to live the life they want in freedom, just like we, humans, want. However, somehow humans forget this, especially when we talk about the animals in plural. That’s a strange psychological aspect of the human mind: we feel less empathy and sympathy towards groups than we do towards individuals. That’s why I want to take pictures of individual animals.
When you look at my pictures, I hope you notice the individual character of each animal. I hope that when you encounter an animal on your path, that you will take the time to watch and see how we interact. I hope that you will see that we aren’t this different. I hope that you will think about how we treat these lovely creatures and that you will grant them their right to live in freedom without being used and killed for whatever human purpose. Enjoy both my pictures and your future interaction with each animal you encounter. Please inform yourself and then decide objectively whether you really want to use animals or animal products for whatever reason (and not because you’ve always been doing this from birth). Decide for yourself if we, humans, are really ‘better’, ‘more developed’ than non-human animals.
