Since 2016, National Geographic Explorer and photographer Ronan Donovan has examined the relationship between wild wolves and humans in order to better understand the animals, our shared history, and what drives the persistent human-wolf conflict.
This outdoor exhibit will introduce visitors to the daily lives of wolves in the Arctic—how they hunt, play, travel, and rest in one of the harshest environments on Earth—with unparalleled intimacy.
As wolves in North America are increasingly under threat due to recent extreme wolf-control laws, and humans continue to impinge on the land and food sources that these animals need to survive, Donovan hopes that his photos will provide people with a better understanding of these often misunderstood animals. He also hopes they will see wolves as they are: powerful, intelligent, social mammals that have evolved to live in family structures similar to humans.
Donovan Ronan
“My work as a National Geographic Fellow, wildlife biologist, and conservation photographer has always been to mend the rift between modern humans and the more than human world. Through visual, written and spoken stories, I strive to capture the intimate rhythms of family bonds, shared challenges, and ancient behaviors that call us back to our wild selves. My photography and film reveal that the boundaries we imagine between ourselves and nature are illusions—reminding us, as Robin Wall Kimmerer wrote, “It has been said that people of the modern world suffer a great sadness, a “species loneliness”—estrangement from the rest of Creation. We have built this isolation with our fear, with our arrogance, and with our homes brightly lit against the night.” And more apply at this time from Rachel Carson, “Man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.”
Martín Prechtel says, “Every person alive today, tribal or modern, primal or domesticated, has a soul that is original, natural, and, above all, indigenous in one way or another. The indigenous soul of the modern person, though, either has been banished to the far reaches of the dream world or is under direct attack by the modern mind. The more you consciously remember your indigenous soul, the more you physically remember it.”
I believe, as the above wisdom speaks to, that our path forward to honor and preserve both the natural systems on this planet and the health of ourselves could be to rewind ourselves in whatever ways we can. To remember that we are part of Earth, not apart from it. In doing so, I’ve felt more aliveness, more connection, more grief and love, and a felt sense of my place amongst my fellow humans.”
Lodi – Giardini Viale IV Novembre
Lodi – Giardini Viale IV NovembreFREE ADMISSION
The exhibition is free to visit without a ticket. Thanks to the Municipality of Lodi.
