“Broken Hearts | Broken Souls” Dog Photography by Maria Camila Morales

EXHIBIT ON VIEW from Friday, June 26 to Sunday, August 24, 2025

ARTIST TALK on Friday, July 18 from 7 to 9 pm - Click HERE to register! - Doors will open at 6:30 pm

exhibit statement 

As our city celebrates Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Aaron Maslow’s recent decision affirming that dogs can be recognized as immediate family members under New York law, talented photographer Maria Camila Morales invites us to mark this moment by meeting our neighbors and their canine companions face to face—and by exploring the stories and experiences captured through her lens.

“Broken Hearts | Broken Souls” honors those who, during their most difficult times, found solace, hope, and unconditional love through their bond with a dog. Dogs have a unique way of healing our hearts with their playful energy, steadfast loyalty, and boundless affection. As a dog photographer, Maria Camila is deeply honored to document the profound connection between dogs and their humans. She believes every dog has a story worth telling, and it is her passion to share these redemptive stories through photography. With each image, she seeks to reveal the heart of the relationship—preserving meaningful moments that celebrate the spirit and love dogs so generously offer.

Through this exhibition, the Gallery at W83 welcomes our neighbors, along with local and international organizations that support individuals and animals affected by abandonment and abuse. These compassionate advocates provide shelter, resources, and adoption opportunities that transform lives—both canine and human.

*All photographs in this exhibit are available for purchase as limited signed editions of ten, plus one artist’s proof, each accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Half of the profits from “Broken Hearts | Broken Souls”will be donated to @twentypawsrescue, a New York–based shelter, and @fundacion_animalove, a Colombian shelter Maria Camila has supported for many years. Both organizations work tirelessly to rescue stray, abandoned, and unwanted dogs—offering them safety, medical care, and the chance to find forever homes. Maria Camila hopes the funds raised will help these two inspiring shelters continue their vital and compassionate work.

Curated by Adriana Caicedo

artist statement

Living on the streets makes people invisible. The streets destroy both their physical and mental health. The daily struggle is simply to survive. Stray dogs have a similar journey. Left behind, abandoned, scared and looking for a way to avoid death every day.

But sometimes homeless people facing financial, political or addiction situations find in stray dogs their salvation. And it works both ways as New Yorker Paul Auster so brilliantly recounted in his masterpiece “Timbuktu”. Who saves who when their lives intersect? United in pain, in oblivion and counting only on each other to make it through each day. Such love, connection and trust cannot be expressed in words.

“Broken Hearts | Broken Souls” is a tribute to all those people who, in their immense pain and struggle, have bonded with a stray dog to ensure mutual survival and love, living and working on the streets of Bogotá, London, Paris and New York. These images seek to convey that special bond. It is also a way to thank Americans for their solidarity with the campaign in favor of adopting strays and unwanted dogs - Adopt Don't Shop. The US continues to be one of the countries with the most “international” stray dog adoptions and New York City leads the way.

about the artist

María Camila Morales is Franco-Colombian. After studying Political Science and International Relations in Paris, she worked as a journalist for more than 15 years at Radio France Internationale, El Tiempo and Radio Caracol. She left Paris in 2008 to settle with her family in the United States. Since 2017, she has devoted herself full time to photography and studied under Carlos Andrés Cruz in Colombia, Matt Stuart in London and Alvaro Laiz in Madrid. In November 2022 she presented her first photo exhibition in Bogotá: “Mi Otro Yo Canino” (My other canine self). This was followed by her second exhibition: “Compagnons de Vie” (Partners for Life) in Paris in November 2024 during ParisPhoto week. From March-April 2025, Paris-based Polka Factory gallery exhibited her photos at Le Bon Marché in their event: “Je t’aime come un chien” (I love you like a dog). Her work was also shown at the Paris Street Photo Festival in April 2025.

FOR SALES CONTACT MARIA CAMILA at miotroyocanino@gmail.com

about the gallery

At the Gallery at W83, we cultivate art and community on the Upper West Side, providing space for personal engagement, community conversations, and spiritual reflection, and collaborate with local artists from diverse backgrounds to explore universal themes of culture, community, and faith.

We bring together different perspectives in this space as an invitation to join in conversations we believe are vital to us all. We affirm the artist's right to express their views independently, and the views expressed by the artists are their own and do not necessarily represent the Gallery at W83 or Redeemer West Side.