This is the second post in the Vegan Activist Profile series. Read the first one: Jaylene Musgrave.
Tamara Kenneally is a vegan and an
animal photographer based in Victoria, Australia. She has exhibited
her work many times on a range of animal subjects from gelatine to
farm animals. Passionate about animals from a young age, Tamara uses
her work to help bring the individual animals to the fore, helping
them to be seen for who they really are. For the month of September,
Team Earthling will be showcasing a few of Tamara's photos over at
the Activist Artist of the Month page.
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| Permission obtained from artist |
Team Earthling: How long have you been vegan?
Tamara Kenneally: I turned incredibly
strict vegetarian 20 years ago, following my older sister and my best
friend. Incredibly strict meant no gelatine, no animal-based food
additives, no leather, no silk etc. The transformation to vegan
happened 6-7 years ago and it was so easy.
I remember at about 14, my mum asked me to cut up some chicken off the carcass. I remember saying then, 'I don't think I'll be able to do this for the rest of my life.' Slowly, the option of not having to eat animals dawned on me.
I remember at about 14, my mum asked me to cut up some chicken off the carcass. I remember saying then, 'I don't think I'll be able to do this for the rest of my life.' Slowly, the option of not having to eat animals dawned on me.
Team Earthling: In what way do you
think veganism is important, if at all, to animal rights?
Tamara Kenneally: Loving, respecting
and fighting for animals doesn't include eating animals, so it's of
the utmost importance. Being able to understand the suffering that
the animals went through to be able to be the meal on your plate is
the first step in fighting for animal rights.
Team Earthling: How long have you
been a photographer?
Tamara Kenneally: I've been
photographing animals seriously since I was 15 years old, so nearly
20 years.
Team Earthling: Talk about your
journey to being a photographer.
Tamara Kenneally: I always had a
fascination with photography, even when I was a child. My first dog,
Buddy, came into my life when I was eleven years old and my love for
him spurred me onto capturing his beauty on film. Buddy learnt how to
pose for the camera with ease and would wait until he heard the
shutter of my camera until he moved. At 15, I studied photography at
high school and got my first film slr camera. Even from then, all my
subjects were animals. My passion in life, ever since I was a
toddler, has been animals. My main work in high school was my dog,
Buddy, and horses.
Scoring near perfect marks in high school, I moved onto a photography school for two years after that where my work was still all animal based. I explored the use of gelatine in film at this stage, as I was torn between being a strict vegetarian, who didn't eat anything with gelatine in it, whilst always using film which did have gelatine in it. The dilemma nearly ended my love after with photography, until digital photography came along and I no longer had to use film. I exhibited the work about gelatine and it was interesting to see the reactions of people who didn't know what gelatine was.
Scoring near perfect marks in high school, I moved onto a photography school for two years after that where my work was still all animal based. I explored the use of gelatine in film at this stage, as I was torn between being a strict vegetarian, who didn't eat anything with gelatine in it, whilst always using film which did have gelatine in it. The dilemma nearly ended my love after with photography, until digital photography came along and I no longer had to use film. I exhibited the work about gelatine and it was interesting to see the reactions of people who didn't know what gelatine was.
Team Earthling: What inspires you to make such beautiful photos?
Tamara Kenneally: Animals. The beauty
and truth of animals inspires me daily. My passion is, and always has
been (and always will be), animals.
I often wanted to photograph slaughterhouses and animal cruelty situations in my early days. I wanted to be a photo-journalist who documented all about the meat industry and about animals being used by people in society. I used to take photographs of dead animals that I found around paddocks and such, but I did it with such a heavy heart whilst crying the whole time. So, I decided to concentrate on taking images of free and beautiful animals, showing their personalities and their true selves.
I often wanted to photograph slaughterhouses and animal cruelty situations in my early days. I wanted to be a photo-journalist who documented all about the meat industry and about animals being used by people in society. I used to take photographs of dead animals that I found around paddocks and such, but I did it with such a heavy heart whilst crying the whole time. So, I decided to concentrate on taking images of free and beautiful animals, showing their personalities and their true selves.
Team Earthling: What brought you to
realising you could use photography to promote animal rights?
Tamara Kenneally: It was never actually
something I ever realised as such. I always photographed animals and
I always loved and respected animals so much that my work was always
animal rights based from the beginning without me really ever
thinking about it. One of my first pieces of work related to the use
of choke chains on dogs and that was before I'd started taking
photographs of farm animals.
Team Earthling: Talk about the
reactions of people when you've had exhibitions with animal
rights/animal photos? Do you intervene or does the art do all the
work?
Tamara Kenneally: Having exhibited my
work quite a lot, it has given me the chance to watch reactions
to my work a great deal. When exhibiting my series "Sentient
Beings", I had pamphlets from Compassion in World Farming
available to be taken home. All 300 pamphlets ended up being taken
home by the public. I also had countless emails responding to that
particular show, with many people vowing never to eat meat again. I
very rarely intervene at exhibitions, unless people come up to me to
talk about the work and then I'll have a chat about the issues and
the animal's plight.
Team Earthling: The thing we love
about your work is that it really shows animals as individuals, as
persons. When we see your animal photos, it feels like you've
captured people, not animals. Explain how you're breaking down that
speciesist barrier in your photos.
Tamara Kenneally: I spend a lot of time
with animals, animals of all kinds. Every single animal I've ever had
the honour to spend time with has been an individual. Some are shy,
some have great senses of humour, some are eccentric, some are
cranky, some are depressive and some are full of love for everything.
So, in my mind, animals are exactly like humans with diverse and
interesting personalities. The big difference between humans and
animals is that most animals do not have a chance to choose the life
they want for themselves.
Taking portrait photographs of farm
animals is not something that a lot of photographers do, mainly
because it's not something that can earn you money. Farmers don't
want portrait photographs taken of their sheep or chickens that they
are sending to slaughter, so it's not something you see a lot of
photographers doing. I don't do it for the money, or lack of it, I do
it for the animals. If people get to see the beautiful, individual
animal I see through my lens and learn their story and name, it may
make them think twice about what they are eating.
I also have the great joy of being able to care for 3 rescued sheep and 34 rescued chickens. Being with these animals everyday makes me want to share with the world how amazing farm animals they actually are.
I also have the great joy of being able to care for 3 rescued sheep and 34 rescued chickens. Being with these animals everyday makes me want to share with the world how amazing farm animals they actually are.
Team Earthling: What advice would you give to any photographers/artists out there who want to use their work to help animals?
Stay passionate, it's easy to give up and be distracted by other things. Try and stay in the loop of the animal rights movement. Read about what's happening to animals in all areas.
Spend time with animals. This is the
single most inspirational aspect to me. Spending time with animals
reminds me again and again why I do this and who I'm doing it for. If
you don't have animals, volunteer at a farm sanctuary near you. My
favourite farm sanctuary is Edgar's Mission
in Willowmavin (Kilmore) in Victoria. I have been blessed to be able
to lots of time there over the years, just me and the animals, and
that is when I produce my best work - when it's just me and the
animals.
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You can find out more about Tamara's
work on her website, Tamara Kenneally Photography and browse through the many wonderful photos of
animals available on her Facebook page. Team Earthling would
sincerely like to thank Tamara for taking the time to speak with us.
If you are doing something exciting in the world of vegan activism and would like to be featured on the Team Earthling Vegan Activist Profile Series, email teamearthling@gmail.com
