I first visited the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary on the Isle of Wight in September 2025 and fell in love with the place immediately. Since then I’ve returned regularly to photograph the big cats who live there. Many of them have difficult histories – rescues from circuses, private ownership, or places where they were never meant to be.
What struck me the first time I stood in front of the enclosures was not the spectacle of the animals, but their presence. They are survivors.
This series is an attempt to observe that quiet tension – strength, dignity, confinement, and endurance – through photographs.
