I spent all my time at school in the library. Bad teachers can teach y — Gregory Colbert

"The whales do not sing because they have an answer. They sing because they have a song."

"In the next 25 years, the human race will have to decide whether or not to preserve the bestiary of Nature’s living masterpieces. Ashes and Snow is not meant to tell people to do some things and not to do other things. It’s meant to inspire. I hope it’s not a requiem."

"Nous avons besoin de renégocier notre contrat avec la nature. Lécologie est une force dunion qui peut diminuer lintolerance et augmenter notre empathie envers les autres—avec les humains comme avec les animaux."

"Colbert’s work feels timeless and sacred. It resonates with a luminous, essential wisdom speaking through the ages. . . . Colbert’s work operates in a parallel universe to ours, an earnest, refreshing, post-ironic world where pure wonder and awe still reside."

"I have invented nothing. I have simply documented a magical alchemy that I want to share."

"Until now Gregory Colbert has been that rare artist who goes out of his way not to be noticed. He was represented by no gallery, he held no exhibitions for a decade, and he gave no interviews. He was in a sense a secret artist, though the secret was shared by a small group of wealthy private collectors who, through acquisitions and sheer enthusiasm, helped to finance his work. He needed this help. In his quest to photograph the mystical relationship between humans and animals, he made 27 lengthy trips to distant corners of the world over nine years. He was usually accompanied by a support team, supplies and equipment. He even rented oceangoing vessels for months on end. In brief, it was both costly and complicated to produce images of great simplicity."