The Garden of Eden
DAVID YARROW
THE GARDEN OF EDEN 2018
Archival Pigment Print on 315gsm Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta Paper
Each is signed, dated and numbered on the front.
Edition Size: 12
Available in the following sizes:
STANDARD:
Print Size: 37" x 55"
Framed Size: 48” x 67" (122 cm x 170 cm)
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**In stock. Available for immediate shipment or delivery**
LARGE:
Print Size: 56" x 94"
Framed Size: 67” x 105” (170 cm x 266.7 cm)
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Framed in David Yarrow's custom black ash frame with white archival mat and UV protective acrylic.
Please contact us at +312.852.8200 for more details about this work.
Or email us at info@hilton-asmus.com
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David Yarrow's Statement about THE GARDEN OF EDEN:
This is one of the most unusual contextual images I have taken in East Africa in the last few years. The white of the flowering meadows and the white of the summit of Kilimanjaro combine to give the image an ethereal glow. The extreme weather conditions - it had rained torrentially for four or five days - had resulted in an implausible theatre of dreams.
There was more snow on Kilimanjaro than I have ever seen before and the normal arid dustbowl of Amboseli was a garden bursting into acres of white carpet. For anyone that knows this area, the combination of whites provokes a degree of visual disquietude. It was quite a remarkable sight that was all down to the freak weather.
The biblical rainfall had discouraged almost any other visitors and we had the amphitheatre to ourselves. We also had a film permit which allowed us to go off road - albeit the ground was very saturated and we were getting stuck regularly - we needed two vehicles to be safe.
The bigger problem was that there were very few elephants in the park - the rain had pushed them out of the park and into the forests below Kilimanjaro. I knew, however, that in the vicinity of the KWS Rangers’ HQ, there are always a good number of big elephants hanging around as they feel safe. It was here that we spent much of our time this March - despite it being a 90 minute drive from our base.
As soon as I saw the white meadows, I knew we had the chance of an image that offered a story of both lyrical grace and beauty - especially if the cloud lifted and we were exposed for a few brief minutes to the summit of Africa’s tallest mountain. Then we just needed the elephants and this was the X factor. No elephant - no party. About 5 pm on one unforgettable evening, everything came together as a small group of elephants headed to the foothills for the night and in so doing walked right through the white meadows. Getting in the right place for the composition was a fairly intense 10 minutes - I knew that this was a moment in time and I would not forgive myself if we missed it.
I look at this picture a great deal and wonder whether it would be better if the elephants had been coming away from Kilimanjaro rather than moving towards it? We will never know, but the formation of the herd has a nice diagonal shape and it tells a story of a journey unaffected by my presence. I think the anonymity of the individual elephants helps focus on the wider context - which is really a hallmark of some sort of fantasy. Was this what The Garden of Eden looked like? Who knows, but it does have a virginal feel.
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DAVID YARROW BIOGRAPHY:
Born Glasgow, Scotland in 1966., David Yarrow took up photography at an early age and as a 20-year-old found himself working as a photographer for The London Times on the pitch at the World Cup Final in Mexico City. On that day, David took the famous picture of Diego Maradona holding the World Cup and, as a result, he was subsequently asked to cover the Olympics and numerous other sporting events.
Yarrow’s evocative and immersive photography of life on earth is most distinctive and it has earned him an ever growing following among collectors. He has firmly established himself as one of the bestselling fine art photographers in the world, with the limited edition prints regularly selling at over $70,000 and with recent work selling in the six figures at auction.
At the Sotheby’s photography auction in London in May 2017, Yarrow’s iconic image from South Sudan – MANKIND – was sold for $75,000, the highest of the 100 lots in the show. In April of 2018 year David’s image “The Wolf of Main Street” sold for $100,000 and was the highest bid for piece by a living photographer. Most recently “78 Degrees North” went for an even more impressive $110,000.
In 2016, Rizzoli New York published Yarrow’s latest book – Wild Encounters – with a foreword written by HRH The Duke of Cambridge (Prince William). The book was awarded “Art Book of 2017” by Amazon and has already sold out a second print run. All Yarrow’s royalties from the book continue to be donated to Tusk, the leading British NGO that focuses on animal conservation in Africa.
Philanthropy and conservation are central to David Yarrow’s passion to document the animal and human world in a fresh and creative way. In 2019 charitable donations from the sale of David’s images exceeded $2.5 million.
David Yarrow is brand ambassador for Land Rover and UBS Bank; he is European ambassador for Nikon Camera. In December 2017 he shot Tag Heuer LVMH’s latest “Don’t Crack Under Pressure” campaign with model and actress Cara Delevingne. In January 2019, David collaborated with American icon Cindy Crawford.
In September 2019, Rizzoli published Yarrow's 368 page photography monograph, showcasing 150 of David’s strongest images from the past two years. The book features a foreword written by global NFL star Tom Brady and an afterword written by American cultural icon Cindy Crawford. All royalties from this book will be donated to conservation charities Tusk, in the UK and WildAid, in the US.