The Griffin is pleased to have Jason Gardner online in the Griffin Zoom Room for a conversation about his series and newly published photobook - We the Spirits.
We the Spirits (GOST Books, UK, 2024), is selected from Jason's vast archive showing the ritual and festival of traditional Carnival for over 15 years, throughout 15 countries.Seeking out villages where festivals were at their most folkloric or least visited by outsiders, Jason collaborated with ethnographers and local experts to engage with each festival. Collectively, his images dispel stereotypes of Carnival and illustrate the complex diversity of local customs united by universal themes.This project has exhibited internationally, including Paris, New York, São Paulo, New Orleans, Toronto, Geneva, Ulm (Germany), Belgrade, and San Francisco. We the Spirits was selected as the Top 50 portfolio by Photolucida's Critical Mass.
About Jason Gardner -
Jason Gardner is an American photographer, based in Paris and New York. Passionate about culture, ritual, and music and how they impact human expression, he tells stories, within the framework of Visual Anthropology. Jason's first photobook, A Flower in the Mouth, (VA Press) documents the culture, music and rituals of Carnival in Pernambuco, Brazil.
You can see more of Jason's work on his website and follow him on Instagram @visualanthroplogy1