다큐멘터리 영화 감독에서 시작해 사진 작가로 그 활동 범위를 넓힌 Gregory Colbert 는 13년 동안 이집트, 인도, 버마, 스리
랑카, 에티오피아, 나이비아, 탕가 등 31개국을 여행하면서 코끼리, 고래, 해우, 팔콘 등이 인간과 교류하고 교감하는 모습을
필름과 사진으로 담아 Ashes and snow 라는 제목으로 2002년 이탈리아 베니스에서 가장 큰 개인전을 열면서 세계적으로
인정 받게 되었다.
동물들에게 해가 가지 않도록 산소 호흡기 조차 휴대하지 않고 작업을 했던 그였기에 이렇게 놀라운 장면들을 담아 낼 수 있
었던 것으로 보여진다.
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Canadian-born artist Gregory Colbert began his career in Paris making documentary films
about social issues, which led to his work as a fine arts photographer of cinematic proportion.
The first public exhibitions of his work were held in 1992 at the Musee de l'Elysee in Switzerland
and the Parco Galleries in Japan. In 2002, he launched the Ashes and Snow exhibition in Italy
at the Venice Arsenale, a 125,000-square-foot 15th-century shipyard owned by the Italian Navy.
It was the largest solo exhibition ever mounted in Italy, drawing more than 100,000 visitors
during its three-month run.
For the Venice exhibition he collaborated with Asian elephants, manatees, sperm and
humpback whales, royal eagles, gyr falcons, antigone cranes, sacred ibis, harris hawks, and
loggerhead tortoises. The New York exhibition includes works of his most recent collaborations
with king penguins, elephant seals, cheetahs, leopards, zebras, elands, wild dogs, meerkats,
and African elephants. Colbert continues his expeditions and the development of Ashes and
Snow, recently returning from Antarctica, where he photographed emperor penguins. His work
is held by private collectors throughout the world.