I know it, you know it and now, thanks to a series of portraits by photographer and former photojournalist Kevin Horan, the whole world can know it: Sheep and goats have distinct and wonderful personalities.
In his series of portraits titled “Chattel,” Horan explores the individuality of the neighboring goats and sheep he’s encountered on Whidbey Island, Wash. Not his typical portrait subjects—most of his portrait work centers on humans—the animals shied away from the lights and sounds of the camera at first, according to a Washington Post article, but he soon found some sheep and goat subjects that would cooperate. The results are stunning images of typical farm animals that explore how untypical they might actually be.
“Soprano, bass, raspy, soft, quick, slow: they were all different,” Horan told the Washington Post about the sounds of the sheep and goats’ bleats. “It occurred to me these creatures were all individuals.”
Horan’s “Chattel” series will be on display at the PDNB Gallery in Dallas until Aug. 27, 2016. If you can’t check them out in person, here’s a sneak peek.