2nd place
silver star award
Ciaran Healy
ireland 
title
The Familiar Wolf
As I connected with dogs, not only my own, but the passing strays or the dog tied up outside the corner shop, I hadn’t realised that the dogs I encountered had begun to help me to reconnect with people again.... I have never been good at holding a conversation but through dogs I had found common ground with their owners.
People granted me access not just to their homes but to their lives. I requested before each session that nothing in the house should be changed in preparation, no special cleaning, grooming the dog or getting dressed up. I wanted to photograph the owners with their dogs as naturally as possible. When I arrived at each person’s home I was often invited to sit and chat over a cup of tea before we started. Sometimes furniture would need to be moved to accommodate the camera or flash. This action of moving furniture, had the effect of unintentionally uncovering parts of our lives that we prefer to remain hidden such as, the dirt under the couch and the stains on the carpet, I found it truly captivating and generous that these hitherto strangers were willing to invite me into their homes and push the boundaries of their comfort zones to participate in The Familiar Wolf and immortalise themselves with their beloved dogs."
Excerpt from The Familiar Wolf
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entry description
"I was a bit of a loner, bullied and outcast for reasons not entirely within my control, even when accepted by others I always felt alone. Through this I began to grow an affinity with the natural world and its non-human inhabitants, but one species always stood out to me as occupying a space somewhere between human and non-human and that is Canis Lupus Familiaris or as it is better known, the domesticated dog.As I connected with dogs, not only my own, but the passing strays or the dog tied up outside the corner shop, I hadn’t realised that the dogs I encountered had begun to help me to reconnect with people again.... I have never been good at holding a conversation but through dogs I had found common ground with their owners.
People granted me access not just to their homes but to their lives. I requested before each session that nothing in the house should be changed in preparation, no special cleaning, grooming the dog or getting dressed up. I wanted to photograph the owners with their dogs as naturally as possible. When I arrived at each person’s home I was often invited to sit and chat over a cup of tea before we started. Sometimes furniture would need to be moved to accommodate the camera or flash. This action of moving furniture, had the effect of unintentionally uncovering parts of our lives that we prefer to remain hidden such as, the dirt under the couch and the stains on the carpet, I found it truly captivating and generous that these hitherto strangers were willing to invite me into their homes and push the boundaries of their comfort zones to participate in The Familiar Wolf and immortalise themselves with their beloved dogs."
Excerpt from The Familiar Wolf
about the photographer
Graduating 2014 with an Honors Degree in photography from Dublin Institute of Technology.back to gallery
