“Alive” exhibition: what for?
I began my work as a photographer in a nature sanctuary in Kenya. With my wife Anne, day after day, we photographed a family of lions over a period of two years in order to study their behaviour. Thanks to these animals, my first models, I soon realized the power photography had over words. From then on, I have always had a great admiration and a strong sense of sympathy for the photographers working with animals. Their work helps us re-focus on living things.
The years spent photographing “The Earth from Above” (la Terre Vue du Ciel) moved me. In the course of my journeys, not only did I become aware of the beauty of the landscapes but also of the impact our activities had on nature. Isn’t it paradoxical that the more progress we make - the more we improve our lifestyles - the more we damage and impoverish our planet, thence threatening every single species ? We are part of the living; the disappearance of biodiversity might just be an echo to our own disappearance.
When I first heard about sustainable development, I thought it was some elusive concept, pretty disconnected from reality and far from my immediate concerns. As of today I know that it embodies in its way humanism.
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I met both people in distress and amazing men constantly fighting for the protection of both mankind and the environment. I know that there are some solutions. “Alive” is not only beautiful pictures of animals. It is also about our lifestyles, with facts and figures, and presents the paths we should follow in the future. We are all responsible for our planet. It is up to each and every one of us to realize that we must act by taking some simple and obvious measures. Let us all adopt more meaningful everyday gestures. Now is the time. |
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Yann Arthus-Bertrand |
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Partners of the project:
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