Photojournalist Antonin Kratochvil celebrated the national launch of his fifth book, "Vanishing" by speaking at Tufts on Wednesday. Kratochvil was joined at Remis Sculpture Court by writer and journalist Michael Persson and environment and development consultant Fred Pearce for a lecture and discussion.
"Vanishing" is a collection of photo essays that documents the devastation and destruction that has occurred in the name of progress, everywhere from Bolivia to Namibia to New York City.
Persson, who wrote the accompanying text for the photographs, described the book as an objective reflection of the effects of the pursuit of profit and exploitation on the environment.
"'Vanishing' is not an indictment," he said. "It is a statement of fact."
The "Vanishing" section of the lecture ended with Fred Pearce commenting on the significance of Kratochvil's book, and more specifically on the resilient nature of the environment, even in terribly devastated areas. He cited the growth of the natural world at Chernobyl as a prime example.
Kratochvil responded by pointing out that humans are far less resilient than the environment, which makes their struggle for survival even more distressing.
The second half of the lecture celebrated an exhibit of Exposure, a collection of photographs taken by current and former EPIIC students. Exposure is a program of the Tufts Institute for Global Leadership that utilizes photojournalism and documentaries as a means for the advancement of human rights.
Senior and EPIIC member Matthew Edmundson screened a presentation of photographs from his EPIIC research trip to a Somali Bantu refugee camp in Kenya. The Exposure exhibit also features scenes from Edmundson's trip to Iran, organized by the Institute for Global Leadership.
In total, Exposure documents 18 students' trips to a wide variety of countries, including Uganda, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Cuba, South Africa, Brazil and Nicaragua. "Vanishing" and Exposure are both currently on display in the Tufts Community Gallery, located in the Slater Concourse.
