Surely you have heard more than once that ARISTODOGS and their ARISTOPARENTS look alike… or end up looking alike. In fact, you may even think so yourself. This is not a coincidence, but rather hides a reason, acknowledged or not by dog owners, which has to do with the fact that we choose our furry companions based on how much they resemble us.
Experts from the University of California have been researching this premise for years. After studying the similarities between owners and dogs in different dog parks in San Diego, they concluded that there was a pattern that could be replicated in many of them. According to the team, for example, women with long hair tended to have long-haired dogs with large ears; while in the case of men, if they were stocky, they usually opted for large dogs. Based on all this, they concluded that, consciously or not, we tend to choose the newest member of the family according to traits that match our own. This may have something to do with feeling more comfortable with them.
These reflections led photographer Inés Opifanti to develop an artistic project that we love and want to share with you today. In it, ARISTOPARENTS imitate the facial expressions of their life companions, their dogs. And, truthfully, the similarities are astonishing and demonstrate a very special sensitivity, both on the photographer’s part and on that of the owners.
The project is titled «The dog people» and immortalizes the expressions of 34 people and their pets, validating the popular wisdom that says that, over the years, we end up coming to resemble our dogs… and vice versa.
In the photographs, the owners imitate their dogs in an exercise in affection and humor. The result of hours and hours of observation, as well as a great deal of time spent together. Only in this way can one achieve that level of mimicry. The tilt of the head is the same; as are the expression of joy and liveliness; the intensity of the gaze…
Here you can see some of the photographs from the project that we have liked the most. Because they show that humans and ARISTODOGS can become almost, almost one and the same being.
Opifanti’s natural talent for capturing the personalities of people and animals has led her to specialize in editorial and commercial photography. Opifanti currently lives and works in Hamburg, Germany. If you would like to discover other aspects of her photographic work, we invite you to visit her Instagram.
At ARISTOPET, we love artistic projects that strengthen the relationship between people and animals and shed light on a bond and a way of life that help us improve as a society.
Like this one by Ralph Hargarten, who did the opposite of Opifanti, immortalizing dogs with very, very human expressions. Or the wonderful series of upside-down dogs by photographer Serena Hodson, whom we told you about recently here.