Ashes and Snow

Ashes and Snow runs through June 6th, and I plan on taking the kids back.  I went today with my pal.  It is a very interesting multi-media presentation. 

The space that has been created for this exhibition sets the tone.  A huge cavernous space with a boardwalk that leads from one end of the exhibit to the end.  The large photographs are hung down the walk way on the left and right side.  They hang over small white rocks.  There is quite a zen feeling with music chanting in the background.  We almost felt like we were waiting for our masseuses to appear.  At the end of the boardwalk was an ongoing black and white film that was the culmination of the event.

The photos were interesting.  They are of elephants combined with young children or whales in water.  None of the photos were digitally manipulated which I was sure they were.  I am not sure of the process he used but I really love the paper the photos are printed on.  They give each picture an ancient surreal look. 

As a whole, I didn't love the photos except for 2 of them.  One being a huge group of elephants walking into water and the other is of an elephants feet and a child directly below. 

Gregory Colbert was the writer and director of this project.  He has created something that has never been done.  This is a true multi-media project using photography as the base.  The books that you can buy in the gift shop are even representative of the show with the same type of paper used in the large photos.

Everything exudes calm, zen, beauty, earth.  It is quite impressive.  I am not sure the photos taken out of context would have the same impact on the audience but as a whole, this is one impressive show.