Jen Osborne – Llama Love

Posted by Fabio 6 February 2013

Bellingham Health and Rehabilitation Center in Washington, USA, is a clean, tranquil place that prides itself on its “home-like environment”. All the residents are recovering from illness, most are elderly, and many have been there for years in palliative care. Visitors are few and far between. So every few months, Marisco and N.H. Flight of the Eagle – showered, dressed up and accompanied by Niki Kuklenski – are welcomed guests as they take a tour of the nursing home, stopping at each bed to kiss the patients or have a hug. Marisco and N.H are trained therapists, and they are llamas.

Jen Osborne is a Canadian photographer living in Berlin. She was based in Treviso, Italy, in 2008 and 2009 with a one-year residency at Fabrica, the United COLORS of Benetton research centre. Her projects have thus far been published and exhibited internationally. In 2010, Jen was nominated for a Canadian National Magazine Award, and was later nominated for PDN 30 and the Joop Swart Masterclass in 2011. She also earned places in both the prestigious ReGeneration2 travelling exhibition and the Magenta Foundation’s 2010 and 2011 Flash Forward book publications.