www.earthfromtheair.com Earth From The Air is a spectacular presentation of large-scale photographs of astonishing natural landscapes displayed against the back drop of London’s City Hall.
Created by world-famous photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, every stunning aerial photograph tells a story about the changing planet. Seen together, they are an outstanding visual testimony to the world we live in today: a world with a growing population, shrinking biodiversity, polluted lands and oceans, a changing climate and a shortage of drinking water. A world, nevertheless, of beauty and of wonder.
The photographs in Earth From The Air show how human activity has left an imprint. They are a record of what has survived the mushrooming globalised industrial economy and what changes it has brought.
In views ranging from spectacular panoramas of vast geographical formations to intimate glimpses of small-scale features, Arthus-Bertrand’s photographs give a remarkable account of the earth’s surface. His searching lens portrays human settlements from cities to desert oases, to varied and exceptional vistas in the world in extraordinary compositions of light, colour and form.
Most of the photographs were taken from a helicopter at an altitude of 100ft to 10,000 ft. The exhibition is accompanied by posters with many hard facts about the world: 1 in 5 adults is unable to either read or write: 98 percent of them are in developing countries and 66 percent of them are women. In 50 years economic growth has increased by a factor of seven and the world’s population doubled. At the same time carbon dioxide emissions – the main cause of global warming – have quadrupled. We use six times more water than a century ago. Yet 20 percent of people have no safe drinking water, 40 percent no electricity and 50 percent of humanity lives on less than £1.50 a day.
Born on March 13th, 1946, Yann Arthus-Bertrand has always been dedicated to nature. He discovered the beauty of the world seen from the air when he was working in Kenya studying lions with his wife Anne. At first he used a hot air balloon, today he uses the helicopter to capture his unique perspectives of the earth.
His aim was to create a record of the world’s environment as a benchmark for the future. He believes the project provokes questions we should all seek to ask: What kind of earth will future generations inherit? How can we preserve the heritage of natural abundance that we share with past generations?
The exhibition is outside city hall and is being held under the auspices of More London the new central London location between London Bridge and Tower Bridge, with stunning views and architecture, wide open riverside spaces and an ever-increasing and growing business community. |