Elderly Animals

• Prize
• Photographer
  Isa Leshko, United States
• Date of Photograph
  online
• Website
  http://www.isaleshko.com

This project examines animals who are elderly or at the end stage of
their lives. I began this series
shortly after I had spent a year in New Jersey caring for my mother
who has Alzheimer?s disease. When
my mother got ill, I made a conscious decision to not photograph her.
However, my experience of caring
for my mother had a profound impact on me and I knew I would
eventually explore my emotions from
this time photographically.

Six months after I had returned from New Jersey, I encountered a blind
elderly horse that was living on a
relative?s property. I was mesmerized and compelled to photograph the
animal. After reviewing my film,
I realized I had found a project that would enable me to explore my
feelings relating to my aging parents
and my own mortality.

I began this project by visiting farm sanctuaries. Because of the
nature of their existence, farm animals
typically do not live out their natural life spans. I was intrigued to
observe and photograph working
animals that actually reached a geriatric age. However, I plan on
photographing a wide range of species
for this project. I also intend on photographing a full range of
elderly experiences, including animals that
are vibrant and seem to defy their age. For additional images and more
information, please visit: http://www.isaleshko.com.

• Biography
  Isa Leshko grew up in Carteret, an industrial town situated off the New Jersey Turnpike. She received her BA from Haverford College in Pennsylvania, where she studied neurobiology and cognitive science. She spent the 1990s working for dot.com startups before she discovered her passion for photography. Isa has exhibited her work widely throughout the United States, including at the Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA; the Rayko Photo Center, San Francisco, CA; the Newspace Center for Photography, Portland, OR; Soho Photo Gallery, NY, NY; the Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA; the Photographic Resource Center in Boston, MA; and the Silvermine Guild Arts Center in New Canaan, CT. Isa's work can purchased through the John Cleary Gallery in Houston, TX and Gallery 339 in Philadelphia, PA. Her work has received two Prix de la Photographie, Paris Awards, an honorable mention for the Houston Center for Photography 2010 Fellowship Competition, and was nominated for a Black and White Spider Award in 2008 and 2009. To view her work, visit: http://www.isaleshko.com