Photo: Gregory Colbert
The pictures are haunting, almost cosmic in their beauty. Animal and man seem to be one. Such is the beauty of Canadian artist Gregory Colbert’s photography in his exhibit Ashes and Snow.
Photo: Grogory Colbert
In this traveling exhibition, the work explores the “shared poetic sensibilities of human beings and animals”.
Photo: Gregory Colbert
And poetic it is. Ashes and Snow started as novel about a traveler who composes 365 letters to his wife during the course of a year long journey.
The novel then turned into these soul stirring photographs…
Photo: © Gregory Colbert
which then turned into a film.
Photo: © Gregory Colbert
To capture these photos, Colbert traveled to more than 60 locations including India, Burma, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tonga, Namibia, and Antarctica to film and photograph interactions between human beings and animals. Elephants, whales, manatees, sacred ibis, cheetahs, leopards, baboons, meerkats, gibbons, orangutans, and saltwater crocodiles are among the animals that he has filmed and photographed. Human subjects include Burmese monks, trance dancers, San people, and other indigenous peoples from around the world. To date, Colbert has collaborated with over 130 species.
Photo: © Gregory Colbert
Colbert captures these animals at their most natural and elegant.
Photo: © Gregory Colbert
Gaining spiritual insight...
Photo: © Gregory Colbert
Reading each others thoughts...
Photo: © Gregory Colbert
Boy and beast...
Photo: © Gregory Colbert
Having an animated conversation...
Photo: © Gregory Colbert
Finding peace with a new friend...
Photo: © Gregory Colbert
Somehow dancing never seemed so poetic...
Photo: © Gregory Colbert
Honoring the glory and beauty of a majestic animal...
Photo: © Gregory Colbert
Two species honor the other...
Photo: © Gregory Colbert
If you believe, you can fly...
Photo: © Gregory Colbert
The structure the exhibit travels in is noteworthy in itself. Colbert conceived the idea for the Ashes and Snow exhibit to be shown in a sustainable traveling museum. Called the Nomadic Museum, the structure is assembled, redesigned and recycled according to the specifics of each location.
Photo: sabine7
Ashes and Snow and the Nomadic Museum is charted to travel the globe with no final destination.
Photo: David Paul Green
To date, the Ashes and Snow exhibit has attracted more than 10 million visitors, making it the most attended exhibition by a living artist in history
Photo: David Paul Green
Gazing at these photographs, it is easy to see why.
Photo: © Gregory Colbert
I wish to thank Gregory Colbert, Mary Bahr and Flying Elephant Productions, LLC for their graciously allowing me to use these photos.
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