ANTHONY EPES ON THE RECORD
Erika Yarrow talks to the leading photographer.
Growing up in rural Canada, Anthony Epes' love of nature was
founded on a childhood immersed in the great outdoors. 'From
the age of five I had Canada as my backyard,' explains Epes. 'I
grew up in the forest and had lots of exposure to the beauty of
trees. That has been carried through into my adult life.'
One only has to look at Epes' work to see the dignity with which
he honours the natural world. His portraits of trees respect the
uniqueness and history of his subject. For someone so in tune with
the beauty of the environment, I wondered if the threatened impacts
of climate change had affected his photography? The trees he
photographs have existed through periods of incredible development,
socially, economically and technologically, but never before has
our environment been threatened by such rapid change that could see
our landscapes altered considerably. 'I photograph things
with an aesthetic eye,' he answers. 'If things are going to
change, there is still beauty in that. In nature there is always
both beauty and danger. Climate change is happening. In some
ways my photography is preserving the environment for future
generations.'
Whilst Epes' photography is not restricted to the natural world,
the environment is intrinsic to much of his work. He explains
that his 'environmental portraits' place his human subjects in
their natural setting, their habitat becoming a large part of the
picture. 'For example, a scientist who has discovered that the
icecaps are retreating could be photographed in the Arctic,' he
explains. Mankind is pictured as part of the wider
environment; be that environment urban or rural, Epes figures
humankind as part of the landscape and as connected with his
surroundings as the wild species of the land. Just as a bird may
feature as part of a landscape and quite by random fortune to a
photographer, human activity is not a necessary feature but
presented - or not - as part of a natural pattern of engagement, as
Epes' collected images of London testify.
Commissioned by John Bird, the co-founder of The Big Issue, his
exhibition London At Dawn gave Londoners a view of their
environment that most hardly experience. Epes explains that
the commission to photograph London in the early hours was intended
originally to have a social element, showing people living on the
streets and the people that work at that time of day in order to
keep the city functioning. Quite accidentally, Epes' experience of
the city at daybreak resulted in the work becoming 'a landscape
book', showing images of the almost unpopulated city. 'The great
thing was that Londoners loved the book and exhibition,' says
Anthony. 'This is not a tourist book. It also inspired a lot
of photographers to start exploring the city and to see the beauty
on their doorstep.'
Art has a remarkable gift of enabling even the most jaded eyes
to see anew - framing the familiar, even the mundane, with fresh
insight. It is this quality that makes art and the
environment such perfect partners, particularly at this time of
uncertainty and flux. 'I think art has a role to play in
saving the environment,' says Anthony. 'You see musicians
bringing their personalities to the scene and art too is a very
evocative medium.'
What stands out in Epes work is the unfailing progress of the
nature, sometimes under the least-promising conditions. 'I
have created a black and white portfolio of machinery in the
environment, showing the plants that had grown around it over time
- nature reclaiming her ground,' says Epes. 'Also in London I
photographed a group of mushrooms that had pushed right up through
the asphalt. It shows the power and wilfulness of
nature. The Earth will be here for a long time. It will
heal itself. It's up to us whether we survive.'
Anthony Epes is on the judging panel of CIWEM's Environmental
Photographer of the Year competition. For further information
visit www.ciwem.org.
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