“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
– Ghandi
So often we look away - Photographer Yun-Fei Tou makes us look into the eyes of the unfortunate.
“Memento Mori”: Yun-Fei Tou’s Portraits of
Shelter Dogs
Born in 1975, Yun-Fei Tou first encountered the art of photography in 1991, as a student at The
“The greatness of a
nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are
treated.” – Ghandi
Yun-Fei: “These images record the last moments of life for some
dogs found in public shelters run by governmental agencies in Taiwan . These portraits are
taken on the very day in which the animal depicted is about to be ‘put down’ or
mercifully killed. These images are but a small fraction of the total body of
work in this ongoing project.
“Utilizing the classic
portrait style that originated in the early 19th century with the birth of photography
as an art form, these photographs offer the viewer a chance to look attentively
into a bleak future. These dogs are essentially dead and their souls are hours
or minutes away from non-existence. These portraits reflect a formal
construct or platform through which the viewer and the dog “communicate,” using
exchanged gazes to create a forced contemplation.
“Photographic images allow us to contemplate.
Through contemplation, we gain an understanding of the uniqueness and nobility
of life. Through contemplation, we understand how chaotic and disordered the
world has become.
“The moment when a photographer chooses to
release the shutter during a shooting session, or when carefully selecting an
image from a body of work about the same subject matter, these acts, the
releasing of the shutter and the editing of a selection, lead to subjective
choices and reveal a bias. In the same token, every viewer has an inborn
nature that is unique and possesses personal experiences that also reflect
different values. Therefore, when different viewers face the same image, it is
inevitable that they produce wide ranges of responses from the minute to
radical to drastic differences in sentiment, interpretation, meaning and/or
intent.
“However, from the point of view of the
subject portrayed in a photograph, these biases, prejudices, and even different
sentiments can be perceived as a form of manipulation. It is often times these
distortions and/or misinterpretations that offer richness in the various
degrees of reality. The photographic image is merely a vehicle of communication
that can lead to a better understanding of a situation, an event, of ourselves
and of the world around us.
“In viewing these specific images, one looks
directly into the eyes of the dog and the dog looks back. These images reflect
the last opportunity to look. This is a final and decisive moment. Death is
eminent and all that is asked of the viewer is to engage, to recognize the
common bonds and to honor the resemblances between our lives.”
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Yun-Fei: Photoshelter | AP Article
In quiet reflection,
Meggi