Michel Ghatan: From Kilimanjaro to the Virunga Mountains

From Kilimanjaro to The Virunga Mountains

"It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement, the greatest source of visual beauty, the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.”

– David Attenborough

From Kilimanjaro to the Virunga Mountains This exhibition features a selection of photographs taken in Kenya and Uganda since 2020. What sets these works apart are the truly awe-inspiring but also very fleeting moments that Michel witnessed and managed to capture with his camera.

One of these rare “wow” moments can be seen in The Terrestrial Paradise. It was the end of a very long, cloudy day…just as the sun was starting to set, a family of elephants entered the bush, and Mount Kilimanjaro with its snow peaks suddenly came into view. The moment was almost divine in its pure beauty and magnificence; and the resulting panoramic work is no less breathtaking.

From there, we fast forward to Michel’s trip in February 2022 to the “impenetrable forests” of Mount Muhabura in the Virunga Mountains, where he spent four days (at an altitude of 2,800 metres) following a family of mountain gorillas that originated from Rwanda. Given their similarity to humans (they share 98.4% human DNA), photographing gorillas is a literal race against time and one needs to seize every opportunity that nature allows.

It has been truly inspiring to work with Michel and to witness his dedication to the art and authenticity of wildlife photography.

A special thank you goes to the team at Alon Zakaim Fine Art. Helen Ho Curator London 2022 3

Foreword Established over a century ago, Fauna & Flora International is the world’s oldest international wildlife conservation organisation. We have been quietly shaping and influencing conservation practice since our foundation in 1903.

Our mission is to conserve threatened species and ecosystems worldwide. To achieve our mission, FFI works with partners to deliver local solutions that are scientifically robust and enhance human wellbeing. We know that the only way to effectively protect our natural world is alongside those who live closest to it. Working with policymakers, business leaders and grass-roots organisations, we are tackling the twin climate and biodiversity crises head on.

Today, our natural world is facing the biggest challenges ever witnessed in human history. Climate change and the unbridled exploitation of natural resources pose unprecedented threats to nature and to all life on this planet, including our own. The need for effective conservation action has never been more urgent. FFI has almost 120 years’ experience in conserving the world’s threatened species and ecosystems. Our track record in tackling these challenges is second to none.

We are at a turning point for nature and the climate - where global inaction will cost trillions of dollars, through the breakdown of our ecosystems that underpin the very fabric of our lives, our wellbeing and our future. COP26 showed the urgency. The planet needs us to face up to the threat of irreversible climate change, mass extinction and global pandemics, which pose an urgent triple challenge to humanity. Climate and biodiversity are inextricably linked, and protection of the natural world is one of the key solutions to minimising the scale and impact of climate change. By protecting highly biodiverse areas around the globe, FFI safeguards a multitude of endangered species, while protecting real value high-capacity carbon sinks. Our extraordinary world is under threat. The time to react is now.

Many of Africa’s most iconic species, like the African elephant or the mountain gorilla are under threat. Traditionally the major cause of decline has been through hunting. While this still remains a threat, other issues caused by rapid human population growth have emerged.

These include habitat loss, fragmentation and the development of agricultural land, which have all led to an increase in conflict between humans and wildlife. But there is hope, as conservation efforts and advanced monitoring techniques has led to mountain gorilla populations increasing to 1063 individuals today.

Dedicated conservation and wildlife photographers, like Michel, have the ability to raise awareness of the plight faced by endangered species and habitats through evocative images that create an emotional connection for viewers. Images from the natural world or of those people helping to protect it, can raise awareness for conservation issues and can inspire action that aids conservation. It is important that it tells the right story and provides context on why the specific species or scene is important and of concern. Secondly, wildlife photography is a major driver of the demand for conservation tourism, and as such contributes significantly to the protection of wilderness landscapes. Photography is even a useful tool through citizen science initiatives, where by photographers are able to contribute to conservation management by sharing their images with research programmes and online databases.

Ultimately, the patience to wait – sometimes hours on end – for that perfect moment comes from somebody who has a real love for the natural world and can connect people through imagery to care enough to conserve it.

Camilla Rhodes Fauna & Flora International www.fauna-flora.org 5

“Elephants are like humans. They are very s

smart, very logical.”

– Peter Beard

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Camilla’s text

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The Works

GENTLE GIANT Kenya 2020

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TOLSTOY & BIRDS Kenya 2021

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THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO II Kenya 2021

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THE TERRESTRIAL PARADISE Kenya 2021

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“If your pictures are not good enough then

you’re not close enough.”

– Robert Capa

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THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO III Kenya 2021

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TOLSTOY Kenya 2021

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THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO IV Kenya 2021

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KILIMANJARO Kenya 2021

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THE TWINS Kenya 2021

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THE HUNT Kenya 2021

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Left to right: CHEETAH STATUE, Kenya 2021 SKULL ON THE DRY LAKE, Kenya 2019

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“It’s more important for a photographer to good camera.”

have very good shoes, than to have a very – Sebastião Salgado

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The Virunga Mountains War, Genocide, Virungas…

I had never heard of the Virungas until my attention turned to the butchery of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. For around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group and some moderate Hutu were killed by armed militias. Numbers as high as 600,000 lives were lost for the profit of war.

The Virunga Mountains are a chain of volcanoes touching the borders of Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.

Eight volcanoes with elevation as high as 15,000 feet are home to the critically endangered mountain gorillas.

In the mid 1990s, poaching gorillas became a way to survive, to profit and to live. Large numbers of Rwandan refugees fled to camps at the edge of the Virunga National Park, leading to loss of habitat for the endangered species and even more poaching.

Ultimately, the civil war in Rwanda resulted in more brutal conflicts spreading to DRC, leading to the First (1996-1997) and Second (1998-2003) Congo Wars. In 2007, Virunga National Park and its population of mountain gorillas became under the control of warlords.

At the present time, Rwanda and Uganda are free from conflicts but battles continue in the DRC for control of land, minerals and oil.

Back in London…and for the first time, it was not the animal per se that led me to a region and take photographs but the rich history of conflicts between humans and its collateral damage.

- Michel Ghatan

Video of Michel’s trip to the Virunga Mountains 2022

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LORD VADER Uganda 2022

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ROKUNDO Uganda 2022

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FATHER & SON Uganda 2022

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HUMPTY DUMPTY Uganda 2022

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THE HEIR Uganda 2022

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I AM 98.4% HUMAN Uganda 2022

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Artist Biography Since first travelling to Tanzania in 2010, Michel Ghatan has been in love with the East African wildlife, seeking its beauty and remoteness which contrasts his city life. Michel has spent the decade since this first visit further exploring Tanzania, Botswana and Kenya, all the while developing his unique photographic process which is a testament to his passion for the wilderness. He uses local tribesmen including Maasai, Kikuyu and Samburu warriors as trackers, often on walking safaris – the purest method of meeting and photographing wild animals. Rather than relying on telephoto lenses and remote controls, which would allow him to work from the comfort of a Jeep, the majority of Michel’s photographs are taken on foot with a 35mm lens, often taken as close as two meters from his subjects.

Stricken by years of poaching, causing the East African animal population to decline by 90% in the last 75 years, the African wilderness has a human-inflicted impermanence which Michel’s photography seeks to lay bare. His process demands a comprehensive and personal research into the animals that he photographs, as well as a level of patience which speaks to the intimate engagement he finds in his subjects, ultimately producing stunning images that also have a rich and personal history behind them.

Michel was born in 1975 in Switzerland, and currently lives in London with his wife and children.

Photograph of Michel Ghatan The Virunga Mountains 2022

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Acknowledgments

ARTWORK Michel Ghatan Photography Ltd CURATION & CATALOGUE DESIGN Helen Ho GALLERY Alon Zakaim Fine Art www.alonzakaim.com EXHIBITION PRINTS Bayeux www.bayeux.co.uk GUIDE ON LOCATION Pietro Luraschi www.pietroluraschi.it

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Produced by Helen Ho