Photo: Gavin Erickson
“The artist vocation is to send light into the human heart.“ ~ George Sand
Robin Olive Reich was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up with an artist mother, an entrepreneur father, two brothers and many stray dogs that they rescued from the streets in the neighborhood. She followed in her mother’s footsteps by majoring in Studio Art and received a BA from Smith College. Her fascination with languages and other cultures led her to spend immersive time sculpting in France, studying Greek cuisine in Greece and studying yoga in India. Robin is also a Reiki Master and certified Yoga teacher.
It was her deep love for animals, and greyhounds in particular, that led her to pick up a camera in the first place and travel to the deadliest greyhound racetrack on the planet, the Canidrome in Macau where 18,000 greyhounds had been killed. There she created heartfelt images of 532 surviving greyhounds that were abandoned when the track was forced to shut down, raising awareness of their plight not only in Macau, but around the world. Photography for Robin is a magical way of sharing our deepest spiritual and emotional connections with animals and the natural world, connections that so many humans have lost. It is also a meaningful way of telling stories that give voice to the voiceless, and bring light and beauty into even the darkest of places. It is her hope that the light through her lens illuminates human hearts and creates images that raise awareness so that they may be moved to protect and care for all the magnificent creatures of this earth.
Robin is fortunate to live on Whidbey Island in Washington in the USA, surrounded by ancient forests and the Salish sea, home to deer, owls, eagles, coyotes, salmon, orcas, gray whales and countless other wonderful beings. She shares her life with her Welsh artist/designer/poet husband in the house that he designed, along with their rescued greyhounds and cats. She volunteers at a local greyhound rescue group and continues to advocate for greyhounds around the world. Her award winning work is published and exhibited in the United States and abroad.