America euthanizes upward of 1 million pit bulls every year. Victims of prejudice that
associate them with violence, pit bulls are the most misunderstood dogs in the US, and
around the world. Yet, underground breeding produces high numbers of dogs who often end up
in shelters. Pit bulls have become disposable dogs.
Working with shelter dogs as models, I photograph them wearing custom-made flower crowns,
to change the way we look at pit bulls. The photographs are then digitally painted, to
give them a nostalgic feel.
Sophie Gamand is a French photographer living and working in New York. Since 2010, her work focuses on dogs and our relationship with them, in an attempt to better understand the human society.
Awards Sony World Photography Award, Portrait category, 2014.
