Untitled 1, Norway

Christian Houge’s powerful images of wolves upend the idea, deeply entrenched in Western culture, of the wolf as a devious creature intent on harming humans. Houge spent months living with wolves in a nature preserve in his native Norway and learned to understand their language. Displaying distinct personalities, the wolves could be bullies and aggressive or loving and curious; they pushed him down to the ground and huddled up close to him. In this photograph, the wolves may be playing or they may be fighting; either way, Houge communicates the power, grace, and social existence of these animals, while raising the question of his own vulnerable position within this scene.

This body of work reminds us of how culture keeps our impulses, fears, and instincts in check. “I see nature and culture being juxtaposed both within and without us,” Houge said. “We are born as something much larger than ourselves. Then, culture comes in with boxes, with identities, teachers, religion. Before all that, we are nature. . . .”

—Kate Addleman-Frankel, the Gary and Ellen Davis Curator of Photography