30 Stunning And Emotional Photos That Won The European Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2020

The overall winner, Jasper Doest, took the moving photograph of a monkey wearing a human mask in a traditional Japanese sake house north of Tokyo. The artist explained that after dinner, the tavern’s guests can watch Japanese macaques performing tricks with various props on a makeshift stage.

“In the old days, the Japanese macaque or snow monkey was a sacred religious symbol, known to mediate between gods and humans. Today, the animal has been reduced to a secular scapegoat, a defaced outcast, and target of mockery.”

This photo is part of Jasper’s larger series of photos that he shot for National Geographic called “Sacred No More.” According to the artist’s website, “The Japanese macaque, best known as the ‘snow monkey,’ is revered as a bridge between man and the gods, but it has become so habituated to humans in recent years that its population has increased tenfold.”

One member of the jury, Angel Fitorthis, said that Jasper’s photo is, in fact, the icon of our time. On behalf of the jury, he stated: “A macaque on stage takes off his mask in front of a fake forest. As the mask slips, the wall of arrogance that we have built between us and nature over many centuries suddenly collapses. Never before has a portrait of an animal mirrored us like this: a naked monkey behind a human mask.”