Nick Brandt’s ongoing global series captures the essence of both humans and animals, all embodying a profound sense of personhood. The subjects, photographed at Senda Verde wildlife sanctuary in Bolivia, reflect the struggles of adapting to a changing world. Each has faced their own tragedies, with extreme droughts and floods ravaging homes and livelihoods. The animals, victims of habitat destruction and trafficking, are rescues unable to return to the wild. Brandt’s images present people and animals together, highlighting their interconnectedness through shared experiences. Fog serves as a unifying visual element, symbolizing the natural world’s rapid decline and echoing the smoke from climate change-induced wildfires. Despite their losses, these individuals and creatures emerge as survivors, navigating a new reality. The series shares their compelling stories. Brandt, born in 1964 in London, studied painting and film at St. Martin’s School of Art. After moving to California in 1992, he has documented humanity’s destructive impact on nature and its repercussions on people. The first chapter of this series was photographed in Zimbabwe and Kenya in late 2020, while Chapter Two, taken in Bolivia in 2022, marks his first work outside Africa in two decades.
