The Furtastic Adventures of the Cabbit and the Folf

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The Furtastic Adventures of the Cabbit and the Folf

For this series, I photographed Belgian, Dutch, French, and German members of the furry fandom, where adults transform themselves into animals by wearing plush costumes. I have chosen to photograph the characters in their own living rooms, making them...

For this series, titled "The Furtastic Adventures of the Cabbit and the Folf," I photographed Belgian, Dutch, French, and German members of the furry fandom, where adults transform themselves into animals by wearing plush costumes. The title of the series is meant to evoke fairytales and refers to their own made-up language. When something in the furry world is fantastic, they call it furtastic, a cabbit is a combination of a cat and rabbit, and so on…

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I have chosen to photograph the characters in their own living rooms. The costumes, which signify that the participants are "in character," are juxtaposed with the homey, personal atmosphere and reveal small things about the participant, grounding their fantasy world in the reality of common life. Despite the somewhat humorous nature of my topic, I wish to approach the topic and photograph the subjects with respect. While the photos have a documentary nature and imply a straightforward visual language, I nevertheless put a great importance on my aesthetic choices. The characters appear like actors on a stage, in the décor of everyday reality.

Charlotte Lybeer is a Belgian photographer who's work has been exhibited and published globally. Currently she is working on a PhD in visual arts and is teaching photography at the Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. More of here work can be seen here.