© Giacomo Brunelli, undated, untitled (from ‘The Animals’)

Italian born Giacomo Brunelli is a photographer of animals, but he is not a ‘wildlife photographer;’ instead the animals he portrays in his haunting black and white photographs (see more here) are those domesticated creatures whose lives are intertwined with that of a human population, and of his own childhood memories — dogs, horses, pigeons and cats — that he would encounter during the idyllic days of play on his family farm. And unlike the ‘wildlife photographer’ his dramatic imagery is marked by a visual language which appears more akin to that of the photojournalist, than any form of natural history photography.

“Once I see an animal that I want to photograph, I try to ignore it then I run after it which usually gains a response; sometimes I just stare at it and see what happens,’ continuing, ‘Their reactions are different, sometimes they are curious about the camera and sometimes they get scared about the noise of the shutter. When I am dealing with dead animals I pick them up from the ground and place them where I think the setting works. In this case my interaction with the animal is a way to give purpose to something that it no longer has.” (read more)

Current exhibition:
‘Animals’ is on view at the Tarquinia Galerie, Trouville Sur Mer, France, until March 31, 2012.
The book ‘The Animals’ was published by Dewi Lewis Publishing in 2008.

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