Bhavvels Bunny-At Home With The Furries

I’ve got to know Bhav over the last few years of this project. I always find him sketching in a corner of a furry meet, usually surrounded by other artists. He’s a lovely chap and over the course of the last few years, he’s constructed his own suit. A furry called Aggie, (the disco gryffon eating breakfast from the series) once said to me that furry characters sometimes reflect the true identity of the person. “Bhav is a rabbit, his personality, his traits. I know he’s a rabbit even before he’s put the suit on”

Sometimes I explain what this project is about to people and they simply can’t believe that furries exist and that they’ve never heard of it. It happened the other week at a party, the pictures only start the process of understanding what this subculture is about.

Anyhow, back to Bhavvels and his bunny ways. Perhaps the only blue rabbit in Barking, I should add only the second furry I’ve photographed in London. We had been talking for a few years about a shoot at his house and he’d been putting me off, trying to move locations elsewhere. Which I understand of course, not everyone is keen on the idea of a photographer rocking up and doing some pictures. Finally though he warmed to the idea.

As with all the pictures in the project, the set-ups are something we’ve discussed beforehand. They should reflect the personality of the furry, but equally the personality of the person inside the suit. The two are interconnected in a very unique way, unlike in fact than any other form of cosplay I am aware of ( I’m prepared to be proven wrong of course)

It is in fact a collaboration, a trust between me and the furry. That relationship and the importance of maintaining that bond may go some way to explain how protective I am of the project and the furries themselves. For example, I welcome exposure for the project so long as it is done in the right way. The Sunday Times, Wired Italia, 360 Magazine and FeatureShoot did a marvellous job.

Here’s two of my favourites from this session, one in his garden which came out very well

The second, capturing Bhav’s artistic side.

To see more images from the project, have a look here

If you’re a furry based in the UK and you’d like to be photographed for the project, drop me a line here

Saethwr, the red dragon chopping leeks, from Cardiff has been selected for the Photofusion Salon exhibition and will be on show from December 12th to January 2015 at the Photofusion Gallery. I’m offering limited edition prints of this image for a very special price during the exhibition, more details here