LANDFILL DOGS

LANDFILL DOGS is an 18 month photography project that draws attention to the most overlooked dogs in a local county animal shelter. Shannon Johnstone photographs each week one long term resident at the old landfill site. The goal of this projetct is twofold. First, these photographs aim to showcase the unwanted dogs personality, beauty, and charisma in an enironment outside the shelter.

The second goal is to illuminate the connection between the landscape and the dog. The locations is carefully chosen. It is a former landfill that has been turned into a public park. The landfill site is used for two reasons. First it is where the dogs will end up if they do not find a home. Their bodies will be buried deep in the landfill among our trash. The second reason for the landfill location is because the county animal shelter falls under the same management as the landfill. This government structure reflects a social value. However, this landscape offers a metaphor of hope. It is a place of trash that has been transformed into a place of beauty. Shannon Johnstone is a photographer and Associate Professor at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. Over the last few years her schlolarship and artwork have revolved around the theme of animal overpopulation. In early 2013, she was granted a year-long sabbatical to complete LANDFILL DOGS.