From March 14 to October 13, 2008, the Rubin Museum of Art in New York is featuring "Nepal in Black and White", an exhibition of photographs made by Kevin Bubriski.
The photographer arrived in Nepal as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1975, and spent about 4 years working in remote villages. He returned in 1984 as a photographer, and with a 4” x 5” view camera, a Nepalese photographic assistant, and two porters, he traveled the length and breadth of the country for the better part of three years.
“The realization that not only my camera but also the modern world was making ever-increasing intrusions into even the most remote areas of Nepal compelled me to document a time and way of life slipping inexorably into the past.” — Kevin Bubriski 1993.
I intend to go to the Rubin to see the exhibit, and will report on it when I do. From the little I've seen of Bubriski's work, his photographs of Nepal are extraordinary.
The exhibition is well-timed, as Nepal is currently in the news with its first election taking place since 1999. The landmark election is for an assembly which will re-write the constitution, and the new body is likely to abolish the 240 years-old Nepali monarchy (which pleases me enormously!).
