Private Story
ANIMALS' LOVER
Animal's Lover
“Animal's Lover” is a photographic long-term project by Diana Bagnoli, which investigates the special relationship that some people establish with unusual pets.
Coming into contact with different stories, realities and people, Diana's surreal and poetic, yet documentary photography highlights, in an evocative journey, the special connection that some humans can have with different species.
"I started the project Animal’s Lover in 2015, trying to express the special relationship that some people establish with what I would call “unusual pets”.
I’ve been working close to my own town, in Northern Italy, not an exotic place at all, instead, well known for its factories.
To find my subjects I came in contact with animal sanctuaries, vegan activists or with people who were just fond of a particular animal.
Many of them have an interesting story to tell, some entered a factory with a balaclava in the middle of the night to save a pig, others can describe in detail the character of their animal, with whom over the years they have learned to communicate perfectly.
Each portrait wants to tell a personal story and suggest an intimate and an unexpected connection. The images sometimes are surreal, but they always tell of a familiar interaction between the human and animal world.
As the years went by I also became interested in insect lovers. These people, who sometimes are professional breeders, others have a deep personal interest, could explain how important bugs are for our planet, their beauty and character.
Most of the time I’ve been working in very common situations but I’ve chosen a sense of wonder and a dreamlike glimpse, to tell their world and document this reality."