Colleen Plumb: Animals Are Outside Today

The photographs of Colleen Plumb (born 1970) examine the scope of intersections and relationships between humankind and other creatures, seeking to draw out the contradictions that have shaped our relationships with animals throughout history. The animals she portrays range from beloved house pets to circus animals and even road kill. Weaving imagery of life and death, Plumb plays with the whole gamut of attachments and emotions we hold toward animals. Karen Irvine of the Museum of Contemporary Photography writes of this work: “[Plumb] uses color, framing and focus to draw our attention to details that are alternately humorous, delightful and disturbing, making the viewing of her pictures an ever-changing and engaging experience.” Animals Are Outside Today is the photographer's first monograph; it collects 74 color photographs that expose both our kinship and our disjuncture from other creatures of this earth.