Disappearing Africa
Anton Lyalin
October 28 – December 6, 2015

The Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography presents the third solo exhibition of a Russian photographer Anton Lyalin Disappearing Africa, which encompasses 13 works devoted to the continent.

Anton Lyalin was born and grew up in Sochi. Since 1994 he has been living and working in Moscow. In 2001 he made his first trip to Africa, where he started photographing wild animals. The series, on which he started to work 14 years ago, encompasses more than 200 pieces by now. Since the first photographs were taken, Lyalin has been to eight countries, has visited the majority of national parks, including Serengeti in Tanzania and Kenya, Ruaha in Tanzania, Chobe in Botswana, lakes Nakuru and Amboseli in Kenya.

In his works Lyalin strives to bring viewers in contact with the essence of wildlife, its beauty and wisdom. He deliberately turns away from animalistic genre to artistic photography, focusing on composition, choice of vantage point, and landscape background.

The photographer captures the individuality of wild animals, their peculiarities and unexpected features. In these photographs they look as if they posed. Lyalin achieves this by making an emotional connection with animals, standing close to them but remaining emotionally detached. He manages to take photographs at close range, not disturbing his subjects. Due to this, animals seem as if they are standing in front of us.

Lyalin reveals the purity of African nature, its tranquility and disappearing beauty in portrayals of both animals and landscapes. A common feature of his works – dense clouds with accentuated texture – is not just a part of the background or a detail used to balance the composition, but is instrumental for grasping the narrative of the picture.