Canadian photographer Gregory Colbert collaborated with animal species around the world to create Ashes and Snow, a groundbreaking exhibit of photographs and films that explores humanity’s relation to the natural world. His remarkable sepia-toned images glimpse a world in which humans live in profound harmony with the rest of the animal kingdom. His poetic style — more art-house film than nature documentary — is unique among wildlife photographers, and it exerts a powerful, almost hypnotic effect on the viewer, awakening a primal feeling of kinship with the natural world. As the New York Times notes, “The power of the images comes less from their formal beauty than from the way they envelop the viewer in their mood.”
Part of the exhibition’s brilliance comes from its permanent home within an impermanent structure, the Nomadic Museum, a portable gallery space designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban and made entirely of shipping containers and other recycled or reusable materials. Dawn and I saw the unusual structure during our 2006 vacation, even photographed it, without realizing what lay within. Had we known, we certainly would have enjoyed the experience, described by many as almost spiritual.
Since its Venice premiere in 2002, “Ashes and Snow” has attracted more than a million visitors as it travels the world. The museum debuted in New York in 2005, subsequently opened in Santa Monica, California and Tokyo, Japan, and will travel indefinitely to ports of call with no final destination. Colbert considers the exhibition a work in progress, and plans to develop his “21st-century bestiary” for years to come.
The website is best viewed using Flash and takes a little practice to navigate. Moving the mouse across a page, for instance, reveals thumbnails which, when clicked, display additional images. The work is truly unique and worth spending the time necessary to experience.
Thanks for the “heads up”, Michael!