A temporary museum housing, more than 50 large-scale photographic artworks and 3 accompanying 35mm artistic films by Gregory Colbert, Canadian-born artist, is transforming Mexico City's Zócalo into a timeless realm in which the boundaries between humans and animals disappear.

The exhibition, Ashes and Snow, sponsored by the Rolex Institute was displayed from January 19 through April 27, 2008 at the Nomadic Museum Zócalo in Mexico City. After only 100 days open, the Nomadic Museum in Mexico City received over 8.5 million visitors. The opening marked the fifth installation of Ashes and Snow, Colbert's sixteen-year personal and artistic odyssey. The exhibition has been on display in Venice, New York City, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. To date, the artist has completed more than forty extensive international expeditions to places as diverse as India, Egypt, Burma, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Ethiopia, Namibia, Tonga, the Azores, Antarctica, and Borneo to explore the natural interaction between man and animal. A devoted group of private collectors has made it possible for Colbert to photograph many of the totemic animals that touch our spirit-elephants, whales, manatees, eagles, and other animals in their own environments and on their own terms.

Colbert, who calls animals “nature's living masterpieces,” captures extraordinary moments of Contact between man and nature. Ashes and Snow is the shared memory of distant lands, peoples, and animals. None of the images have been digitally collaged or superimposed. They record what the artist himself saw through the lens of his camera. These mixed media photographic works marry umber and sepia tones in a distinctive encaustic process on handmade Japanese paper. The artworks, each approximately 3.5 by 2.5 meters (11.5 by 8.25 feet), are mounted without explanatory text so as to encourage an open-ended interaction with the images. The films are not documentaries. They are poetic narratives that depict a world that is without beginning or end, here or there, past or present. The overall effect is an experience of wonder and contemplation, serenity, and hope. “When I started Ashes and Snow in 1992, I set out to explore the relationship between man and animals from the inside out. In discovering the shared language and poetic sensibilities of all animals, I am working towards restoring the common ground that once existed when people lived in harmony with animals,” says Colbert.

Gregory Colbert originally conceived the idea for a sustainable traveling museum in 1999. He envisioned a sustainable structure that could easily be assembled in ports of call around the world, providing an ephemeral environment for Ashes and Snow on its global journey. The public debut of Ashes and Snow took place in 2002 at the Arsenale in Venice. Built in 1104, this monumental space inspired the architectural concepts of the Nomadic Museum.

The first of its kind, the Zócalo Nomadic Museum, designed by Colombian architect Simón Vélez, is composed primarily of bamboo and shipping containers, along with other recyclable and reusable materials. The building demonstrates sustainable practices and an innovative architectural approach.

Rolex has made it possible to preserve the body of work as shown in its original form at the Venice Arsenale in 2002. This collection is joined by photographic artworks and films from recent expeditions to comprise the work on display, so that the show itself, along with the architecture, evolves as it travels.

The title Ashes and Snow suggests beauty and renewal, while also referring to the literary component of the exhibition-a fictional account of a man who, over the course of a yearlong journey, composes 365 letters to his wife. The source of the title is revealed in the 365th letter. Colbert's photographs and films loosely reference the traveler's encounters and experiences described in the letters, fragments of which comprise the narration in the films. Ashes and Snow: A Novel in Letters was first published in 2004.

To date, more than a million and a half people have visited the exhibition. Additional venues are planned in South America, Asia, and Europe.

www.ashesandsnow.org