Nika Sandler, part of our PhotoVogue Community, narrates her relationship with her cat, whom she lost a year ago. She remembers her non-human friend through archival photographs and captures new moments, portraying the world from the animal s perspective.
"Since birth, I have always been surrounded by cats. The first being who became interested in me after I was discharged from the hospital was a cat. He stood on the bed and stared at me. He had never seen a human child before. Fortunately, he liked me. I had been under his watchful eye ever since. At the same time, my friendship with cats began.
A year ago, I lost a close feline friend. This event made me immerse myself in the memories of cats and reflect on their impact on me and my life.
In this series, I turn to archival photographs of my nonhuman friends, some of which I magnify greatly and try to look at and recall the smallest details in a catlike, far-sighted way. I create still lifes with objects that remember the touches and smell of my friends. I also take screenshots of camera footage attached to cats collars to get an idea of how they saw the world."
Nika Sandler is an artist working with photography and text. She explores the themes of human and non-human gaze, gender, pleasure, creepy and disgusting. Her work has been published in i-D, Dazed, Libération, Der Greif, Phroom Platform, Konbini, The Calvert Journal, Publico, Metal Magazine, PhMuseum, L Oeil de la Photographie, BROAD, F-Stop, Float Magazine and many others. She is also the winner of the Small File Photo Festival 2023 organized by The Photographers Gallery.
Website: https://sites.google.com/view/nikasandler/
Instagram: @nika.sandler
