Vanishing

Antonin Kratochvil
Vanishing

Photographs: Antonin Kratochvil

Text: Michael Persson

Publisher: de.MO

248 pages

Year: 2005

Comments: Illustrated hardcover, 24 x 36 cm, b&w photographs. Text in English. In good condition, with some signs of wear and dirt on both sides of the cover.

For his project Vanishing (2005) Antonin Kratochvil spent sixteen years recording things all over the world that are being seriously harmed or on the point of disappearing. For instance, he photographed gold mining in Guyana, which involves the use of large quantities of cyanide. The use of this poisonous substance has serious consequences for the landscape and for public health. In Bolivia he focused on the once flourishing tin mining, which is now being closed down as a result of bad management. In the Congo Kratochvil photographed the illegal trade in threatened animal species, and in Ecuador the oil polluted environment. One and all, they are not issues that stand high on the world’s agenda; nonetheless they have dire consequences for nature and the environment, and therefore for mankind.

Antonín Kratochvíl is a Czech-born American photojournalist. He is a founding member of VII Photo Agency.