Endangered Species 2012

The risk of abandonment

We live in a world where the effects of man on his environment through climate change affect every living thing. Every one of us is at risk of extinction.

This work is composed of 100 Hipstamatic photographs of abandoned children's toy animals on the shelves of flea markets and junk stores. From a very early age we become aware of the natural world around us through them. We learn about their habitat, their ways to survive through our child-like curiosity. They represent animals many of us never get to see in their natural habitat. Some have become domesticated pets, or the animals that we utilise for our food.

Toy animals are a symbol of comfort and companionship. We see the pleasure these animals bring to our children and when they abandon them along with the concerns of childhood, we cast them aside. But it is the real animals that face an uncertain future that are our true companions. We cannot live without them.

In this work each animal is portrayed as a portrait in a situation of uncertainty. In these flea markets the animals wait to be noticed, wait for someone to care, wait for a brighter future. In the wild the real animals wait for us to notice them, they wait for someone to care, wait for brighter futures.