In 2019 Italian-American photographer, Federico Pestilli, conceived the series Extinct in an attempt to highlight our quickly vanishing natural world. Just as photographs can fade over time when not looked after correctly, so many species on our planet are also permanently fading from view. The delicate chemical process the photographer has chosen highlights the fragility of the medium, as well as the state of existence of the species portrayed. Compositions bare the mark of their making. The edges of the frames are vanishing. Imperfections are left on view.

As analogue photography is replaced by digital, and as the natural world is confined and destroyed, we should be asking ourselves if we are changing the character of our own being. How will we find courage without the lion? Power without the elephant? The Past without analogue evidence? Our characters, strengths and fears, have been forged through time by other creatures and the environment. Losing these, we lose a part of ourselves. Will photographs be the only remaining testament of our primordial past or will we rise up to protect the fragile environment we all depend upon? These edition prints, hand crafted by the photographer, are documents of our planet’s beauty but also a testament to all we have to lose.