Open Horizons – Journeys across Mongolia is Matthieu Paley’s new exhibition and follows his hugely successful first exhibition at Picture This Gallery – An Ethereal World – which was held in 2010.
For this new exhibition, Paley will show 19 photographs captured during his numerous visits to Mongolia between 1998 and 2010. Shot with a mix of medium format and 35mm film, these photographs represent some of his finest work in Mongolia and form the basis of his book Mongolie, La Route de L’Horizon which was published in Paris last year. Many of these photographs have not previously been exhibited or made available for sale.
Matthieu Paley lived in Hong Kong from 2002 to 2010, and this proximity to Mongolia allowed him to travel there frequently. The photographs in Open Horizons are highlights of several extended journeys he has taken throughout this vast and awe-inspiring country since 1998. By returning repeatedly to Mongolia he has over time built friendships with its proud, semi-nomadic and indigenous communities.
Mongolia is a vast wilderness, a land of only 2.5 million people, a country where land is leased not owned, a country of nomads and herders, a land of strong men, fine horses and that supreme bird of prey – the eagle. It is a tough life, but the people live in harmony with nature. The rhythm of their lives is dictated by nature, the seasons, the sun and the moon, rain and sunshine, and Paley’s photographs reflect this rhythm.
Paley loves Mongolia and the experiences it has so often offered to him in his journeys far and wide to many of the country’s most remote regions. He journeys both for the vistas, the mountains and lakes and for his meetings with the Mongolian people. This extract from his Mongolie book draws us into Paley’s world, at least for a few moments.
"Walking through the parched plains leading to Lake Achit Nuur, we notice a rider in the distance slowly coming our direction. We walk on, expecting him to soon catch up with us. A few minutes later, we hear the hoofs of a horse slowing to a trot, following us at a close distance, but not approaching further. Curious as to who has come to inspect us, we turn around and promptly stop in our tracks: Poised and motionless, an old Kazakh man, dressed in a massive black del (Mongolian overcoat) is observing us from the ornamented saddle of his statuesque black horse. The man’s appearance is so unexpectedly striking that all we can do is stare at him. His snow-white hair is cut short and partly covered by a black velvet cap, perfectly matching del and horse. A long, thin goatee as white as his hair and neatly cropped enhances the dark tan of his weather beaten face. His eyes are of the most intense blue – calmly observing us. “Where is your horse, where is your car?” he wants to know. We try to explain that we are just walking, that we have a tent to sleep in. The black rider, puzzled by our answer, simply shakes his head in disbelief and rides away. We are left standing in dust, not knowing whether this encounter was real or a product of our imagination."
- Extracted from Mongolie, La route de L’Horizon and translated
