My work Close-Friends expresses the link between human and animal babies. Faced with the fragility of these little ones we are fascinated and softened by their needing. Far from being free or simply charming, these parallels reveal in their own way, the secret of life and its origins. Close Friends also expresses the link that we, as humans, have with each and every member of the human race. It is no secret that there are millions, if not billions, of people who are hurting every day in some way, and I want to do something to change that the best way I know how.
My latest project, entitled “Endangered Friends,” brings all of this together in a brand new way and my friends, I need your support to make this work.
Since my childhood in the countryside, in the heart of Flanders, my life as a Mother, and through my work as a photographer, I have had many opportunities to observe the way nature and humans are interdependent. During photography projects with many beautiful animals, I have seen that they have reasoning, a consciousness comparable to ours – what I could only describe as an astonishing inner life. In the animal kingdom there exists emotions common to all species.The beginning of human life reminds us of the innate harmony that unites all living things. During this period of life, man is certainly the closest to the animal, who like him, is simple, candid and trusting.
Unfortunately, the beginning of human life and the childhood of many is broken around the world. Millions of children have no parents to care for them, no family to love them, and they are struggling day in and day out to survive. These children are our future, but they are endangered. In addition, our beautiful planet is about to lose many wonderful creatures whose only crime is that they are fashionable to hunt, maim, and kill. These animals are also endangered. This is where my new project, Endangered Friends, comes in.
Endangered Friends presents this connectedness and the fragility of nature with the message that we must take the utmost care and compassion to take care of that which we are so blessed to currently have, but could lose in just a heartbeat. Endangered Friends takes the messages of conservatism and moderation to a new level by showing each of us what life is like outside of our normal vision. Endangered Friends will bring together photographs of orphans and photographs of endangered animals in similar poses, much like you have seen in my previous works. This will be combined with the initiative to create an unconventional gallery in Nomadic Yurts as I want to provide an educational gateway, advocating for endangered species both human and animal.
A portion of the profits from “Endangered Friends” will be donated to the Orphans in Africa Project & Wildlife Direct in order to help the endangered among us.
