Primates

We live in a time unlike any other; the disengagement between the natural world and humans has led to many destabilizing ecosystems, with the latest climate crises challenging our existence. My lifelong, passionate commitment to the animal kingdom celebrates species diversity while raising ecological awareness is in jeopardy without an ecosystem. There are no species without the whole interconnected environment.

The chimpanzees and bonobos in this collection are our nearest relatives. I have put all of these primates on a stage to emphasize their importance, using classic lighting techniques that elevate their stature and referencing classic portraits of important human leaders, artists, and thinkers. Black and white photographic portraiture removes time from the context of the work, imbuing it with a timelessness similar to that found in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea," enabling it to be relevant when viewed in any era.

These primates were photographed in many different settings with a unique story. The grouping includes educational primates, rescued primates, gibbons at the Gibbon Conservation Center in Los Angeles, gorillas in Uganda, geladas in Ethiopa's Semien Mountains, Zoos and Wildlife Centers.