Richard Phibbs is a Canadian photographer who has done several different types of work that varies from advertising, fine art and his own personal work. One piece that caught my attention was his 2016 project ‘Rescue Me‘ which is a book he created where he was a longtime volunteer at Humane Society of New York (HSNY) where we photographed of dogs at the shelter who were up for adoption.
His book includes more than 70 images of these dogs who have survived heartbreaking circumstances, each image had information of said dog filmed with the emotional description of their struggle. Although the book was published by Aperture, the royalties went to HSNY to help benefit them and the dogs that they help.
For example, Little Lowell was discovered by police in a cramped cage on a hot day in May, dehydrated and covered in urine – under all his matted fur he was practically skin and bones, clearly he had been imprisoned for quite some time. One eye had to be removed due to the damage, however he had a long recovery from surgery as he had a severe fungal infection.
Yoko, a two-year-old Italian Greyhound was brought to the HSNY with two broken legs after her owner hadn’t ensured that was was properly nourished, this led to her bones becoming brittle. After 6 months of care, she needed a home where she could be treated delicately and would be protected.
This unit’s theme is ‘Power’ and I want to take it in the animal route. At first I thought about how I can not only incorporate animals into my project, but be able to produce work from it. Therefore I decided looking into how the way animals are photographed can really make a difference – for example, these two images immediately warms people’s hearts as they are both injured or have been injured.
Although not every person is the same, a lot of people nowadays do not want to re-home an injured, disabled or older dog, they wish to have a happy and healthy puppy as it is easier than having to take care for a dog who might need lots of attention and medical care.
It’s the same with advertising – they showcase their injured animals in hopes for people to either adopt or donate, a very common strategy in a lot of different industries.
A reoccurring theme in the Rescue Me book are people willingly giving up their dogs as they are unable to take care of them. It is easily done as so many people love the idea of having a happy, furry companion but never take into consideration the care they need – not just feeding and attention, but they need daily exercise, grooming and sometimes medical care, this then leads to people giving up their dogs as it doesn’t fit into their lifestyle – people think you can simply adopt or purchase a dog, easy…but it is not the case.
Their environment is a huge aspect you need to take into consideration – if you live in a set of flats, it’s not exactly the best idea to buy a large breed of dog, etc. They need room to play and run around, they can’t simply stay inside all the time and be fed and given water, there is a lot of care they need.
During his project, Phibbs found himself attached to one dog in particular – a long haired Chihuahua called Finn. In the end, he ended up adopting him.
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