Sanctuary Art Studios' Stories to Uplift and Inspire

There are so many stunning jungle prints out there, especially in photography. I love the jungle style and I’m not surprised, that many other photographers and artists out there, do too. However, not all jungle prints are made alike and this photograph has a very special meaning to me and a once in a lifetime, unique story behind it.

The story behind the shot

This photograph of the Colombian rainforest is very special to me and my work and taken under some unique circumstances. Taken deep in the wilds of the jungle of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, this shot was not easy to come by. Not only for the location where it was shot, but also the timing, the light, that particular day.

This part of the forest, buried deep into the valleys of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, is home to an indigenous community of Arhuacos, and the name of their village is Singueney.

I had been invited to visit the community by the Arhuaca women with whom I had begun to work with in 2014. I was asked to create a photo documentary on the process of weaving the traditional mochila bag. I had waited for years to be asked to shoot a project like this so of course I was honoured to accept the project.

To arrive at the photo shoot for the women in Singueney, is not very easy. I took a bus to the city of Fundacion, a few miles from Aracataca, where Gabriel Garcia Marquez was from. This journey is well off the tourist trail, so just this bus ride was an inspiring journey, at least in photography terms. The mountains began to get a lot taller, the roads emptier and the air cleaner.

The next part of the journey was a motorbike taxi.... for 5 hours to get to the top of the Sierra Nevada mountains... at a town called El Cincuenta. When they say it's not the destination, it's the journey, I often think of this trip. The motorbike ride up the mountain is fairly hair-raising, bumping and sliding past sheer mountain drops... But the view is like nothing else.

And the silence is almost loud. I love being in places where the silence is loud.

The final part of the journey 5-6 hours, descending into the valley..... on a mule.
But it isn't just the journey and the rare location which are special, really it is all about my reason for being there in the first place.

Commissioned Work by the Arhuaca Women

Descendants of the Tairona, an ancient South American civilization, indigenous group, the Arhuacos, reside here, in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The majestic Sierra Nevada, the highest coastal mountain range in the world, rises more than 18,000 metres from crystalline waters of the Caribbean, to the sacred snow peaks, and with seven eco-systems in one area, it is unsurprisingly known as the ‘Heart of the World’ to the indigenous communities who inhabit the mountains and valleys. The Arhuaco describe themselves as the ‘Elder Brothers’, and have developed an understanding of the earth which gives equal measure to the human mind and spirit and the forces of nature.

I was personally selected and invited to work with the women, to document the process of weaving the mochila, a hand woven shoulder bag. During 1960s, the Arhuaca mochila left the Sierra Nevada and began to be seen all over Colombia, today it used by old and young alike, and represents a core part of Colombian culture.

This is an ongoing project and was not easy to start. I had 6 months of interviews with the holy leaders - the Mamos, and the internal governors. The trust and confidence which has been built over the years is something very special to me and to them, and I continue to work with the women today. This means almost a decade of intimate portraits and capturing often unseen moments of everyday life.

Today we plant a tree in the heart of the world for every print sold.