Isa Leshko began photographing elderly animals shortly after spending a year caring for her mother who has Alzheimer's disease. During that time she made the conscious decision not to photograph her family, but she knew the experience would influence her work.
About a year after she returned home, she was mesmerized by a blind, elderly horse named Petey who lived on a relative's property. She spent the afternoon photographing him. After reviewing the film, she realized she found a way to sift through her feelings about her mother's illness and her own fears about aging and death. She subsequently traveled to farm sanctuaries in several states to photograph elderly animals. She spent hours with each one, often visiting them more than once, and sometimes just lying with them before taking a single photo. I think that intimacy and respect shows in her images. She met pigs, chickens, sheep, roosters, monkeys, horses, and several dogs…
Filmmakers Mark and Angela Whalley made this film about Isa Leshko's Ederly Animals project…
Interview with her in The New York Times.
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