Amanda Hinson
Gregory Colbert is a photographer and a filmmaker from Canada. He initially started working in film, creating documentaries on social issues. From there Colbert went on to work in photography. The first showing of his work was held in Switzerland, at Musee de Elsyee, in 1992. After finishing his first exhibit, Colbert decided to travel the world, and he did so for the next ten years. He visited places such as Antarctica, Egypt, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Tonga, Dominica, Namibia, and Burma (Colbert). Below is one of his works.
During Colbert’s traveling he created Ashes and Snow. This is a continuous artwork about the relationships between humans and wild animals. Ashes and Snow is a collective artwork including, a hour film, two shorter films, called “haikus,” and more than fifty photographs. The images are incredible; the animals and the humans seem as though they hold a special bond between them.
The first time Ashes and Snow was shown was in Venice, at Arsenale, in 2002. Colbert’s artwork is now shown in a Nomadic Museum (which started up in 2005). It is a permanent housing for Ashes and Snow and it gives the exhibit the ability to follow the artist around from town to town. Over 10 million visitors have attended Colbert’s Ashes and Snow, since it was first exhibited in Venice. The traveling museum has been to places such as New York, Santa Monica, Mexico City, and Tokyo.
The photos in the exhibit are around 7 ft by 12 ft; such a large size image itself can really draw the audience to the piece. A truly amazing thing about Colbert’s photography is that none of the photos have been altered digitally. The images are truly just moments that the artist caught and captured between people and animals.
Colbert tries to show the connection between humans and animals. Colbert’s artwork incorporates many different types of animals including, cheetahs, asian elephants, meerkats, orangutans, manatees, humpback whales, royal eagles, and many others. Ashes and Snow depicts these animals in their natural environment, with humans in theirs, and together shows how they interact with one another.
Colbert presents the images in the Nomadic Museum by themselves. There is no text displayed with the images. The artist wants each viewer to have a connection with the work and not have words interfere with their own personal experience. The images clearly show intimate moments between humans and the animals they are photographed with.
Colbert is connected to his work, and has a distinct idea that he is striving to get across to his audience. It is clearly drawn out when Gregory Colbert said, “In exploring the shared language and poetic sensibilities of all animals, I am working towards rediscovering the common ground that once existed when people lived in harmony with animals. The images depict a world that is without beginning or end, here or there, present or past.” It is good to know that Colbert can still find parts of the world where animals and people do still live in harmony.
Colbert’s images show animals that many people consider wild acting almost as if a loving pets. There are still places on earth where there is a mutual love and respect between animals and humans and these images unmistakably depict that. One thing for certain is that as Colbert continues to work on this series there will be more unique moments caught between animals and humans. Many people will be looking forward to future pieces by Colbert.
http://www.ashesandsnow.org/en/vision/
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/gregory-colbert-ashes-and-snow