As much as I try to disagree, I often hear that dog photography (or “pet photography”) struggles to do well in the atmosphere of fine art. It is quite commonly seen, but I do once in a while come across projects that I feel do it a little differently.
I find a lot of value in the artist’s statement. While I don’t respond in any particular way to the premise that the dog subjects are perhaps “trapped,” I do enjoy the range of reactions on their faces. What I take away from the images is the way we see pictures of dogs in which they are anthropomorphized, or in seeing the pictures, we as viewers anthropomorphize the dogs. How many of the dogs in this series look like they are driving the cars, or waiting for a passenger, or being driven to some destination? Where did this dog’s owner go that they are nowhere in sight on an empty beach and for how long are they gone? I agree that the pictures are both interesting and fun to look at.
I was once left in a car at a young age. I don’t know when or where or for how long, possibly at the age of four, perhaps outside Tesco’s, probably for fifteen minutes only. The details don’t matter. The point is that I wondered if anyone would come back. It seems trivial now but in a child’s mind it is possible to be alone forever.
Around the same age I began to feel a deep affinity with animals – in particular their plight at the hands of humans. I remember watching TV and seeing footage of a dog being put in a plastic bag and being kicked. What appalled me most was that the dog could not speak back. It’s muteness terrified me. I should say that I was a well-loved child and never abandoned and yet it is clear that both these experiences arose from the same place deep inside me: a fear of being alone and unheard. Perhaps this is a fear we all share at some level, I am not sure.
The images in this series explore that feeling, both in relation to myself and to animals in general. The camera is the perfect tool for capturing a sense of silence and longing: the shutter freezes the subject for ever and two layers of glass are placed between the viewer and the viewed: the glass of the lens, the glass of the picture frame and, in this instance, the glass of the car window further isolates the animal. The dog is truly trapped.
When I started this project I knew the photos would be dark. What I didn’t expect was to see so many subtle reactions by the dogs: some sad, some expectant, some angry, some dejected. It was as if upon opening up a box of grey-coloured pencils I was surprised to see so many shades inside. I hope that these pictures are engaging and perhaps a little amusing. I want to show that there is life in the dark places within us. I will stop writing now and you can stop reading. Words can only get us so far. After all, we are all animals.
From “The Silence of Dogs in Cars”
Visit artist's site: martinusborne.com
Posted March 18th, 2013
