Citizens Humanity is critically stressing planetary boundaries in ways that pose extreme risks. I believe this is a matter of utmost urgency. We need new stories about our place in the world and how we act in it, and those stories need to shift our values to be inclusive of all the things we currently only consider as “externalities” as a basis for reimagining our interactions with the world and each other. I have begun photographing wild animals around my home Matfield Green, Kansas, with the goal of capturing visual evidence of their sentient agency. These photographs will be used to create a body of work that challenges the prevailing anthropocentric worldview and promotes a more inclusive understanding of our place within the natural world. By unsentimentally demonstrating the intelligence, sensitivity, and emotional complexity of animals, this project aims to contribute to a shift towards a more sustainable and ethical future. Once spanning 170 million acres, the North American tallgrass prairie has been reduced to a mere 4% of its original extent. Most of this remnant lies in the Flint Hills of Kansas, near my home. Exploring these grasslands evokes deep emotions within me in a way I imagine as connecting to my evolutionary roots in the East African savannas millions of years ago. Studies suggest that early hominids transitioned to human ancestors as their environment shifted from dense forest to open savanna, similar to the landscape of the Kansas Flint Hills. Though separated by distance and time, these two environments share a symbolic link to our origins. I find myself thinking of the animals I encounter as representatives of the knowledge required to live as a vital part of the world without depleting it that is lost to me. Having lived around animals of various degrees of domestication for most of my life, I’ve come to be convinced that we have more in common than the developers of industrial livestock production would have me believe. They possess emotions, intelligence, and sensitivity, forming a parallel society of "citizens" that rarely intersects with our own. While wary vigilance often defines our encounters, fleeting instances of pure mutual curiosity have left me questioning the very foundation of my existence and the choices we make. What, really, lies on the end of the fork I hold in my hand? Western society is deeply rooted in the mythology of human dominion over nature. This belief system has led to persistent social injustices and widespread environmental exploitation and degradation, pushing the planet to the brink of ecological collapse. To overcome these challenges, we need a new story, one that recognizes the intrinsic value and interdependence of all living beings and promotes a sense of stewardship rather than dominion. Art has a powerful capacity to shape our understanding of the world. By expanding the canon of art to include the essential vital sentience of non-human animals, we can cultivate a deeper empathy and respect for the natural world, and a deeper experience of our common humanity. This project aims to contribute to this process by creating a series of photographs that depict the mythopoeia, intelligence, and sentient agency of wild animals.