Yana Wernicke depicts the love between humans and animals

Concerned with modern humanity’s desire for a deeper connection to nature, Yana Wernicke created a touching portrait of two young women who have nurturing relationships with animals. The subjects of her new book, “Companions”, recently published by Loose Joints, are Rosina and Julie, who independently rescue animals from harm and create bonds of trust and love with those that are typically considered only for their economic value. Through tenderness, touch and insight, the German artist’s work follows the path of joy and emotion. This theme plays between humans and animals in hopes to bridge the gap that connects our emotional consciousness and that of the other animals we live with. 

We spoke to the artist to learn more about her project.

When did your interest in the animal world begin?

I always loved animals and growing up we always had pets. But the most formative experience I had was when I was 19 years old and worked at an ape sanctuary in Cameroon for a couple of months. The time I spent working with the animals, observing them and taking pictures with my small digital camera was the beginning of my love for photography.

How did the idea for this project come about?

I wanted to work on a project about human-animal relationships for a long time. In the beginning I visited many animal sanctuaries all over Germany, where I photographed the animals and their caretakers.
In this process, I met Julie in the summer of 2020. She suggested that I should also meet Rosina—whom she had not yet met herself at that point; they only communicated via social media. I started visiting them both over a longer period of time and slowly realized that I wanted to focus the project solely on them.
I was impressed by how both of these women took on this huge responsibility of caring for all these animals with little to no outside support. Their friendship with the animals was unlike anything I had witnessed before. It was less about one-directional care and more about a companionship that goes both ways. Their lives are so intertwined with those of their animals. There is so much trust and tenderness there, but also a huge amount of responsibility and pressure.