Monday 31 August 2015

On this earth a shadow falls across the ravaged land

 
 
On this Earth a Shadow Falls Across the Ravaged Land, Nick Brandt,
 
 
 
 
 
at Fotofrafiska Museet, Stockholm.
 
 
 
 
 
This exhibition took my breath away. The portraits of the animals Nick Brandt has been photographing for the last twelve years are dignified, soulful and give a real sense of a world under siege. 'It's not hyperbole to say that it's an apocalypse of destruction', he says. 'Elephants are being wiped out at a rate of 35,000 a year. There used to be a demand for tiger penis - now there's so few tigers left, they've moved on to lions. And animals such as giraffes are being annihilated for bush meat sold in urban markets'.
 
When he first set out to Kenya and Tanzania 'I began with this view of the region as a Garden of Eden - one of the last places in the world where you could see a wide range of different animals en masse. But over the years I began to realise I could no longer photograph that view, so each successive book [in the trilogy of the series] has become darker: when you take their titles, On this Earth, A Shadow Falls, Across the Ravaged Land, it speaks of an arc from a paradise to a much darker but very real vision'.
 
Raw ivory now fetches up to £500 per kilogram and rhino horn is worth more per ounce than gold dust, according to WWF. Elephants that Brandt photographed just a few years ago have already been killed.
 





There is a studio portrait quality to these images even though the subjects are animals in their own habitat: it's about how the light falls and how the portrayed sit, and that the personality of the model has been brought out.

In addition to portraits, Brandt shows the animals in the landscape in which they belong. Zebras crossing a river, giraffes in tall grass or a herd of elephants kicking up clouds of dust.

The exhibition forcefully makes the point that it is late on earth. The exploitation of natural resources has left its mark: the average temperature is rising, the glaciers are melting and the deserts are expanding. Brandt depicts how population expansion and poaching, especially of elephants, risk eradicating species that have walked the earth for millions of years.



Hippos on the Mara River, Maasai Mara, 2002
 

 


Lion with Monolith, Serengeti, 2008

  
 


Rhino on Lake Nakuru, 2007
 




Zebras Crossing River, Maasai Mare, 2006




 
Giraffe fan, Aberdares, 2000
 
 
 

Cheetah and cubs, Maasai Mare, 2003




Cheetah in tree, Maasai Mara, 2005
 
 
 


Lioness against dark foliage, Serengeti, 2012





Elephant with exploding dust, Amboseli, 2004





Leopard staring, Maasai Mara, 2010
 



Lion before storm II, sitting profile, Maasai Mare, 2006
 
'I'm waiting for the moment where the animal seems like they're posing or where they've set themselves into a landscape', Brandt said. This means he can spend weeks with an animal without taking a single photograph. For the profile of the lion in the picture above, he watched it sleep under clear blue skies for 17 days. But the moment of satisfaction finally came when a strong wind blew in and the lion sat up.




Giraffes in evening light, Maasai Mare, 2006





Elephant skull, 2011





Line of rangers with rusks of killed elephants killed at the hands of man, Amboseli, 2011
 
 
 


Elephants walking through grass, Amboseli, 2008
 
 
 


Elephant with baby on ground, Amboseli, 2012


 


Two rangers with tusks of elephants killed at the hands of man, Amboseli, 2010





Portrait of elephant on bare earth, Amboseli, 2011





Elephant footprint
 
 
 
 
 
Lion and wildebeest, Amboseli, 2012





Lioness










Elephants alone on lake bed, Amboseli, 2010
 
 
 


Snake on lake bed, Amboseli, 2012





Trophy of lion
 
 
 
 
 

Park ranger with two tusks


 
 
Calcified fish eagle
 
Approaching the shoreline of Lake Natron in Tanzania, Brandt came upon an eerie sight: lying on the earth, as still and stiff as statues, were calcified corpses of birds and bats that had died after crashing into the waters. The water has an extremely high soda and salt content which cause the creatures to calcify, perfectly preserved.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Petrified reflected flamingo, Lake Natron, 2010
 
'Discovering these animals ... I thought they were extraordinary - every last tiny detail perfectly preserved down to the tip of a bat's tongue, the minute hairs on his face. The entire fish eagle was the most surprising and revelatory find', said Brandt. 'The creatures were rock hard. There was never any possibility of bending a wing or turning a head to make a better pose. So we took them and placed them on branches and rocks just as we found them, always with a view to imagining it as a portrait in death'. 
 
 
 
 
 
Calcified bat
 
                                                                   *   *   *
 
 
Lately Brandt has expanded into serious conservation work with his non-profit Big Life Foundation which focuses on wildlife in the Amboselin ecosystem in Kenya and Tanzania. With donations from his photography supporters, the year-old organisation now has 120 rangers, who collaborate with communities to reduce poaching and conflicts between farmers and wildlife.
 
 

Sunday 30 August 2015

Fotografiska Museet, Stockholm

 
 
Fotografiska Museet, Stockholm.
 
This is one of the largest photography museums in the world with 5500m of exhibition spaces, an academy, bistro, café, bar conference rooms, museum shop gallery and event spaces.
 
Housed at Stadsgarden, in a former industrial Art Nouveau style building, dating from 1906, designed by Ferdinand Boberg, the building was originally used as a customs house. The original brick façade is intact while the interiors have been renovated to house the museum.
 
 



The museum seen from the ferry
 
 
 



The museum is located on the Sodermalm island. We had spent the day wandering around the island, leaving the museum as the last activity of the day. We had to come down these steps to get to the waterfront which is where the museum is situated.






First thing we saw was this giant bronze sculpture by Swedish artist Dan Wolgers. The name of the sculpture is Torso, and it's said to represent the artist's self-portrait and a woman's womb.






Torso is located in the middle of the outdoor café where we sat and had a late lunch before viewing the exhibitions in the museum.





 
It's a wonderful building
  


and it's ever so long.





After viewing the exhibitions we took the lift to the top floor to see the new restaurant which recently won the prestigious Gold Dragon Award and which is run by Paul Svensson. The concept focuses on green seasonal dishes.






It's a wonderful space





with breathtaking views of the water and the island of Djurgarden on the left.
.




As we had already eaten, so we just looked around the space



 

 

and the photographs posted on the walls - too much reflection on the photographs makes it impossible for me to post some,
 
 

 


except for this one, by Nick Brandt, whose stunning photographs were the main exhibition we saw on that day. Post to follow.

 
 
 

Saturday 29 August 2015

The Sanctuary of Poseidon, Poros

 
 

The Sanctuary of Poseidon in Poros is at the top of the hill. We drove through dense pine woods





until we eventually reached Kalaureia, 200m above sea level.




 
According to archaeological finds the earliest use of the site goes back to the Early Bronze Age and continued without interruption throughout antiquity. The sanctuary was dedicated to the worship of Poseidon, but there is also evidence of a multi-faceted cult activity including the worship of minor deities and local heroes.
 
    
 


The temple of Poseidon was most likely erected towards the end of the 6th century BC.





All that is preserved today are the foundation trenches and the wall surrounding the structure. It was a temple of the Doric order with six standard columns on the front and twelve on the long sides.




 
In order to avoid capture by Antipatros of Macedonia, the Athenian orator and statesperson Demosthenes sought refuge in the sanctuary and this is where he committed suicide in 322 BC.









This olive tree is in the photographs of the earliest excavations so it must be at least 150 years old





magnificent gnarled old tree trunk.
 
 
 



The pine trees on the site are of an almost luminous green





looking closer




on the edge of the site this green oasis gave us welcome shelter from the burning sun




 
and affords great views
 

 
 

 
that are breathtaking
 
 
 

 
the ancients really did know how to choose spectacular locations for their temples and sanctuaries
 
 
 


this one reminded me of the temple of Apollo at Delphi, another site that has been built in spectacular countryside.





On the dry, parched ground a lone cyclamen was blooming - out of season, and a triumph against  harsh conditions




 
lots of these roots? bulbs? on the ground. I do not know what they are.
 

 
 

 
We made a sudden stop while driving down the hill as we saw this church

 
 
 


it's the church of St Eustathios and one of our party was named Eustathios, or Stathis as we call him




 
and he wanted to have a look.
 

 
 


Then it was time to take the ferry to the mainland - a five-minute journey.