Commission
Earth Commission
The Commission is an invitation for a photographer, chosen from the Prix Pictet shortlist by the Partners of Pictet & Cie, to produce a portfolio of images related to the theme of the award. These images are the result of a field trip to a region where Pictet & Cie is supporting a sustainability programme.
‘Earth’ was the theme of the Prix Pictet in 2009. Pictet chose to support the work of Azafady, a UK charity and Malagasy-registered NGO that helps the poorest communities in Madagascar develop sustainable ways of living and increase local access to healthcare and education. American photographer Ed Kashi was invited to undertake the second Prix Pictet Commission.
Pictet made a specific commitment to Azafady’s Voly Hazo project, which aims, through tree planting and preservation of the natural forest, both to preserve the soil from degradation and to halt the progress of desertification.
Madagascar is classified as one of the world’s top three ‘hotspots’ for biodiversity; yet it is also one of the poorest and most environmentally challenged countries in the world. Through Kashi’s pictures, we see the compromised beauty of this threatened island which has been described as follows: ‘The island should be thickly covered with trees. But instead of the living green of vegetation, the land is pitilessly scoured. ... This is not from commercial logging. The trees fall at the hands of poverty-stricken Malagasy, who need to feed their children. It’s one of the most massive modern ecological disasters yet catalogued, and it has unfolded mostly over the past thirty years.’ (Alanna Mitchell, Dancing at the Dead Sea: Tracking the World’s Environmental Hotspots).
Kashi, who travelled to Madagascar in January 2010, says, ‘My work has led me to many places on this earth and it’s critically clear our world is under tremendous stress. The relationships we hold as human beings with the earth, and the issues that are raised about how we conduct this vital relationship, have developed into core themes within my work. Nowhere are the effects of this dysfunctional relationship more evident than in Madagascar.’
He added, ‘This Commission for the Prix Pictet is in direct response to the global cry to stop and take responsibility, seen through the dignified and vibrant people of south-east Madagascar, in a cross-examination of the intricate ties that bind them to the earth.’
See all images from Madagascar, A Land Out of Balance
Click here to download a press release about the 2009 Commission
Read Ed Kashi's first impressions on Madagascar
Click here to read about the Commission Exhibition
Click here to read about Ed Kashi's Talk at the Diemar/Noble Photography
