I love my dog and he loves me. When I'm bored he's ready to play, when I'm tired he's there to snuggle, and when I'm feeling stressed he comes running over to lick my face. I know it's kind of silly, but I sometimes wonder what our relationship would be like if he could talk. I think he loves me, at least. Since we can't communicate through language, our bond—as simple and wonderful as it is—is based almost entirely on inference and projection.
It's this gap of understanding between pet and owner (as well as the widespread phenomenon of household pets, in general) that fascinates contender Alex Arzt.
Debbie and Peanut, Chico, CA 2009, by Alex Arzt
Alex's series Human-Animal documents household pets and the people who love them a little too much.
Alex writes:
I continually wondered how adaptable the human home is for other species, whether that species lives in its own bedroom or in a cage in the backyard. The animals in these pictures often occupy the home space as fixtures much like the trinkets and framed pictures that display the animal lover's identity. Various objects, including empty grocery store food packets, tchotchkes, stuffed animals, animal clothes, car decals, drawings, memorialized gravesites and photographs identify the human owners as animal-lovers, even when the object of their affection is not captured in the frame. As many of my photographs make clear, some human identities are carved through the creation of a familiar human-pet dynamic involving both affection and dominance, captivity and care. My photographs record this man-made symbiosis as it occurs in and around the American home.
Another series, Ailurophilia (another word for "cat fancier") more narrowly investigates obsessive pet owners of the feline persuasion. The photographs are hilarious (especially as a full series), but I'll let them speak for themselves:
Untitled from Ailurophilia by Alex Arzt
Untitled from Ailurophilia by Alex Arzt
Untitled from Ailurophilia by Alex Arzt
All I have to say is that aside from taking fine photographs, It takes someone pretty brave to venture into a cat convention. You can see more work at Alex's website.