Wade Davis

Inspired by artists such as Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz and Henri Cartier-Bresson, who wrote that great photographs come about in the decisive moment when the head, heart and eye find perfect alignment in an axis of the spirit, celebrated anthropologist and photographer Wade Davis has travelled the world in pursuit of the wonder of the human imagination as brought into being by culture.

In Wade Davis: Photographs, Davis selects 150 of his favourite photographs from the thousands he has taken in the course of his forty-year career. Intimate portraits of family and community life, they are universal in feel, although they represent an enormous diversity of geographical locations and cultural backgrounds. Each one captures a rich story about the human condition, and invites the viewer to experience scenes of family, magic, love and tradition.

Throughout his career, Davis's central aim has been to convey a visceral sense of the mystery and wealth of human culture, the embodiment of all that we are and all that we have created as a species. Through his words and photographs, he sheds light on the great peril that many traditions face, and the danger of losing forever the rich cultural heritages that have sustained us for thousands of years.