Gregory Colbert

(Toronto, Canada, 1960)

Gregory Colbert is a filmmaker and photographer best known as the creator of Ashes and Snow, an exhibition of photographic works and videos housed in the Nomadic Museum.

Gregory Colbert’s first exhibition, Timewaves, opened at the Elysée Museum in Switzerland in 1992, receiving critical acclaim. For the next ten years, Colbert did not publicly display his works or videos. Instead, he traveled to places like India, Burma, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Dominica, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tonga, Namibia, and Antarctica to film and photograph the interaction between humans and animals. Since 1992, Colbert has conducted more than 60 expeditions and collaborated with more than 130 species: Colbert has filmed and photographed animals such as elephants, whales, manatees, sacred ibis, Antigona cranes, golden eagles, buffalo rhinos, cheetahs, leopards , African wild dogs, baboons, gibbons, orangutans and saltwater crocodiles. The human subjects he has photographed and filmed include Burmese monks, trance dancers, San people, and members of other indigenous tribes around the world. Gregory Colbert’s work Ashes and Snow is a project that consists of artistic photography, a film and two “haikus” short films and a novel presented in letters. Colbert’s photographs and films try to awaken an ancient memory in people of when they lived in harmony with animals. In 2002 Colbert presented his work Ashes and Snow in Venice, Italy. A review in The Globe and Mail of April 9, 2002 said in this regard: “Colbert unveiled Ashes and Snow, an exhibition of images and photographs unprecedented in scope and scale. Covering 12,600 square meters, it is one of the largest one-person exhibitions in the history of Europe.”

In the spring of 2005, the exhibition opened in New York City inside the Nomadic Museum, a temporary structure built exclusively to house the exhibition. Subsequently, Ashes and Snow and the Museo Nómada traveled to Santa Monica, California in 2006, Tokyo in 2007 and Mexico City in 2008. To date, more than 10 million people have visited Ashes and Snow, making it that makes it the exhibition of a living artist with the highest attendance in history.

Colbert began his career in Paris in 1983, making documentary films on social issues. His documentary On the Brink-An AIDS chronicle, was filmed in nine countries, and nominated for an ACE Award in 1985 in the Best Documentary category. Other film projects include Last Words and Finding a Way Home. His film work led him to artistic photography.

Gregory Colbert ha recibido una considerable cantidad de premios y distinciones. En el 2006 ganó el premio de “Mejor Curador del Año” (“Best Curator of the Year”) en los Premios Lucie (Lucie Awards). En el 2007, su película Ashes and Snow fue nominada para un premio especial en el Festival de Cine de Venecia (Venice Film festival). Su reconocimiento más reciente fue el nombramiento de embajador honorario de cultura y turismo de México. Ashes and Snow y el Museo Nómada (The Nomadic Museum) continuará su gira mundial indefinidamente.

Quotes

“When I started Ashes and Snow in 1992, I wanted to explore the relationship between man and animals from the inside out. By discovering the shared language and poetic sensibilities of all animals, I am working to restore the common territory that once existed, when people lived in harmony with animals. ”

“All cultures, from the Egyptians, through the Mayans and Native Americans to the Bedouins, created bestiaries that allowed them to express their relationship with nature. Ashes and Snow is a twenty-first century bestiary, full of species from around the world. The nature orchestra includes not only Homo sapiens, but also elephants, whales, manatees, eagles, cheetahs, orangutans, and many others. ”

Some of his Photos