"Project Zoo- Safari" No.10

-Artist Statement-

I love animals. Since I was a little kid, I’ve been always looking for the opportunity to see various creatures and actually touch them. Because of that, a zoo is one of the most familiar places for me in my life. I’ve love to wander in a zoo for long time; it always allows me to discover something new about animals and look at them closely and be amazed. I enjoy each zoo visit for these reasons.

On the other hand, I often wonder about the situation of animals kept in cages. Honestly, I feel sorry for them being kept in a limited space instead of roaming free in a vast wilderness. Once, I wrote an argumentative essay assigned from my ESL class, asking “Should zoos be banned or not?” and I remember that my answer was “Yes, they should be banned.” It was a hard question to answer, and I was not really sure about my answer. The reason why was that I also knew advantages of the role of zoos. They have a mission to let people become aware of the amazingness of animals and how important it is to save them from the danger of extinction.

This series, titled Project Zoo- Safari, originated from my complex feelings and love toward animals. I visited San Diego Zoo & Safari Park every weekend for three months, and I photographed the animals lives there. Each image captures their beauty, uniqueness, emotions, - their EXISTENCE. No matter what their living situation is, they retain their greatness. I believe that greatly captured images of those animals will let people realize how precious they are and remind us that a zoo should continue working hard to provide a better place for the animals they keep. Also, I hope that my audiences will get one important message from this series of images. If we always respect have all living creatures, it is then that a peaceful world for both humans and animals comes true.
Read less