Concerned with modern humanity’s desire for a deeper connection to nature, Yana Wernicke created a touching portrait of two young women who have nurturing relationships with animals. The subjects of her new book, “Companions”, recently published by Loose Joints, are Rosina and Julie, who independently rescue animals from harm and create bonds of trust and love with those that are typically considered only for their economic value. Through tenderness, touch and insight, the German artist’s work follows the path of joy and emotion. This theme plays between humans and animals in hopes to bridge the gap that connects our emotional consciousness and that of the other animals we live with.
We spoke to the artist to learn more about her project.
When did your interest in the animal world begin?
I always loved animals and growing up we always had pets. But the most formative experience I had was when I was 19 years old and worked at an ape sanctuary in Cameroon for a couple of months. The time I spent working with the animals, observing them and taking pictures with my small digital camera was the beginning of my love for photography.
How did the idea for this project come about?
I wanted to work on a project about human-animal relationships for a long time. In the beginning I visited many animal sanctuaries all over Germany, where I photographed the animals and their caretakers.
In this process, I met Julie in the summer of 2020. She suggested that I should also meet Rosina—whom she had not yet met herself at that point; they only communicated via social media. I started visiting them both over a longer period of time and slowly realized that I wanted to focus the project solely on them.
I was impressed by how both of these women took on this huge responsibility of caring for all these animals with little to no outside support. Their friendship with the animals was unlike anything I had witnessed before. It was less about one-directional care and more about a companionship that goes both ways. Their lives are so intertwined with those of their animals. There is so much trust and tenderness there, but also a huge amount of responsibility and pressure.
What have you learned about the relationship between animals and humans through your work as a photographer?
I learned a lot by observing Rosina and Julie. Experiencing the relationships and the acceptance that they have for their animals helped me gain more acceptance and understanding toward the animal world. I believe we all have the capacity for more empathy toward the non-human species and this project has certainly opened my eyes to that.
What is special about photographing animals? Is there a particular way of approaching them?
Photographing animals is a real challenge. There is no way of communicating what you want of them. Working with animals takes a lot of time and endurance, especially with bigger animals such as cows. You need to try and beware all the animals surrounding you, pushing you from one direction and chewing on your ear from the other. I think this project taught me how to be a silent observer, to take my time and let a situation develop until the right moment for a photograph arrives.
What are the values that guide your practice as an image maker?
I try to be aware of my own position as a photographer and my responsibility towards the people I photograph. This project is especially close to my own values, like not harming animals and protecting the environment. With it, I have also gained a new confidence to stand more firmly behind my own ethics. This might get in the way of me making some money (and did so just recently) but that’s more than OK for me now.
How did you encounter photography?
I was always the kid in school with the little video camcorder, recording all school trips and events and editing them to clips with music. Originally, I wanted to become a documentary filmmaker. When I went to Cameroon at 19 years old to work at the ape sanctuary I had so much time everyday, that while observing the animals, I started taking pictures. This really sparked my love for photography and I decided then that I wanted to be a photographer.
Speaking of the book, how did you work on it?
I started photographing the project in 2020 and went back and forth between Rosina and Julie. Working together closely with Loose Joints was a great experience. Sarah Chaplin Espenon did a fantastic job on the sequence of the images and our visions of a somewhat modest but gentle book that works with photographs.
What message would you like to give with your work? What would you like the viewer to take from it?
I hope people can enjoy the images and maybe even raise some empathy and awareness towards animals, especially towards those that are not usually considered as companion animals.
Companions by Yana Wernicke is published by Loose Joints through to www.loosejoints.biz
