Nick Brandt

Nick Brandt's work is some of the most important photography made this century. His first book, On This Earth, published about ten years ago, was cautionary. Now, fifteen years after his initial pictures of African wildlife were taken, we can stand amazed at his beautiful and well-crafted images in his latest monograph, Inherit The Dust, but must do so with a heavy heart because they have come at a heavy price. Simply put, we are witnesses to the destruction of a land and its once primary inhabitants. What has been lost forever has been replaced by the temporary...roads, factories, quarries, etc.- many of which already look dilapidated. The juxtaposition of Brandt's original animal portraits placed now in their contemporary setting will make it painfully obvious to the next generation that this one failed them miserably. If there is any saving grace it is that they will at least have Nick Brandt's photographs to help them imagine an Eden that once was.… (more)