Monkeys on camera

Monkeys are us and the opposite of us at the same time, since they share none of our cultural constraints on behaviour or appearance, says photographer Jill Greenberg in her book Monkey Portraits (Little Brown and Co, pbk, $40).

‘‘For anyone who doubts Darwin (ahem, Mr President), look in the monkey mirror and think again,'' she writes in her introduction.

The Los Angeles advertising and celebrity photographer took portraits of numerous primates, many of which had starred in films, television or advertisements.

Many of the monkeys look back at us from the page, some of their expressions seem familiar and somehow we see ourselves. It's fascinating, disorienting and exhilarating.