Vanessa Ahlsborn’s (MFA Photo ’05) Machete Project in Outside Magazine

Chitwan, Nepal

Vanessa Ahlsborn bought her first knife on a whim, during a trip to Madagascar. Then she bought more—in Cambodia, Vietnam, Ecuador, and Panama. In 2010, she snapped a photo of a young boy with a machete in Colombia. And so began The Machete Project, her photo portfolio based on the idea that every knife tells a story.

Photo: For elephants living in captivity, foot problems are a common health concern. Overgrown nails and their related infections are a direct result of the lack of movement that would naturally occur in the wild. Mahouts at this sanctuary are therefore trained to perform elephant pedicures to ensure healthy feet.

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