to be successful?” “Is it going to sell?” since I decide most of my shoots you never know how it will be perceived. It’s taken a few years of waking up every morning going “What the hell am I doing?” but now its all running smoothly. How have different audiences around the world reacted to your art? Everyone is reacting super positively. I have been lucky enough to tap into something that everyone likes it’s just amazing. Everyone is connected with animals. Is there a prevailing message you are trying to communicate with your pieces? First of all I hope it makes people travel and dream. All these places are real and the situations are as well. I’m trying to evoke various emotions 50
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with each picture. Only being on the field have I seen all the horror of the poaching, it’s absolutely astronomical how many animals get killed a year and there is only a few years left before they are gone. Something like 100 million sharks went last year because of finning. Cyanide is being put in the watering holes in Africa exterminating 300 elephants at once when drinking it then they take their ivory tusks. When I was shooting in Africa last year there was one elephant and one rhino getting killed everyday. I have no doubt that at this rate there will be no more elephants in my lifetime. So my message has become very strong trying to show the massacre and also the beauty of these animals, educating people that ivory comes from killed animals.
What is your dream for your art / what would you like to accomplish in the future? Space! Richard Branson is doing astonishing things at the moment with Virgin Galactic and I am extremely excited to try and get to work with them on it. Any exhibitions of your work coming up in the Middle East? I am doing Art Basel at the moment then I am ready to come to the Middle East, its going to be absolutely amazing exhibiting there- one of my favorite places in the world!
Kristian’s art can be found online at: www.kristianschmidt.com