Triptychs :
Mountains of Eastern Tibet
(2015)
The Chola range in Kham. Walking amidst isolated high valleys at the beginning of winter. The images evoke a perfect ‘land of the high valleys’. Shrouded by thin snow and mist, the masses stand as archetypes of mountains, looming above the viewer, their massive presence in direct contact with the sky.
Works made from high-res digitized medium format film. Giclée prints on fine art paper.
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At first, the only feeling is to have left. Set in motion, we are walking towards a place imagined further, in each valley to be crossed, yet now only in our minds. Then, slowly, imperceptibly, the thoughts towards past and future give way to the feeling to be simply here.
A month walking in the Chola range in Kham, Eastern Tibet. Hiking up high valleys, passing at the foot of towering rock masses, crossing windy passes in the clouds. Week after week, far from the constant noise of society, the mind settles in. It ceases trying to control the environment or expect something. Grass, wind, rocks. Cold stream water. Fatigue helping, the direct contact with natural elements brings out an immediacy that heightens perception.
As the mountains remind us of their unpredictability, winter gets closer and already whitens the heights. Then comes the desire to pay homage to these valleys and their untamed nature. Express a graphic vision felt within the cradle of the mountains, recreating an archetype of the land of the high valleys. Echo to an imaginary fed with tales, from Tolkien’s Taniquetil to the first attempts by explorers to enter the then forbidden Tibet.
Having returned, we now feel the distance. Far from the rocks and mountains that were so close, we feel far from here too, as if a part of oneself has remained in the high valleys. Watched from here, the images now write themselves into this imaginary and, hopefully, enrich it in return.
Upon exiting the last valleys, the first shepherds we meet offer us a cup of tea. They live isolated, far from downstream villages. Few words, but a sharing rich of the surrounding elements. These images also pay homage to the people of the high valleys, their authenticity and kindness.
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