Artist Statement
If i could explain it, i wouldn't shoot it.
Process Statement
The majority of the imagery is shot with the Canon 5d mark II with the exception
of the fine art series 'Between Two Worlds' shot with the Bronica GS-1 medium format film camera.
Influenced and informed by time spent with indigenous cultures in multiple
countries, photographer and filmmaker, Nicol Ragland, has undertaken an exploration into humanity’s relationship to the wild, resulting in the exhibition 'Indigene' that is in the development stage of a much broader project encompassing public discussions and multi-media components - a travelling presentation serving to educate and illuminate the idea that indigenous patterns are working within our larger world.
Since my interaction with the Hadzabe, one of the last remaining tribes of hunter-gatherers in Africa, I’ve been drawn towards dissolving notions of indigenous people as curiosities. I didn’t want to portray a victimized people nor suggest a repetitive appeal to ‘save this dying tribe’ but rather to explore their governing systems and ecological literacy that creates their interdependence towards each other as well as their relationship with the wild. As a documentary photographer I focus my attention on finding the inner parameters of a community, uncovering a truth of human emotion that lives beyond facts.
Photographs from a recent series entitled ‘Between Two Worlds’ were created out of my interest in looking deeply into our own disconnection by juxtaposing taxidermied wild animals with domesticated first world inhabitants living and existing in centers of mass commerce. Increasingly, I have become witness to a grassroots movement of artists, catalysts, and visionaries leading us towards interdependence through the creation of decentralized, human-centered networks that honor the imagination and the ecological world that has nurtured us since our very beginnings.
More of the Indigene Project can be learned here - http://indigene.is/
Born and raised in Oklahoma.
BA Environmental Science – University of Denver
BA Photography – Colorado Institute of Art
Nicol currently calls Venice, California home.
Non-profit clients -
St. Jude’s Hospital, Global Service Corps. of Tanzania, International Fund for Animal Welfare, The Millennium Village of Rwanda, World Neighbors and The Cine Institute of Haiti.
Commercial Clients -
TARGET, Mark Burnett Productions, Men's Fitness, America Online, Creative Screenwriting Magazine, LA Weekly,
David Whyte / Many Rivers
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