description

Vincent Munier (Épinal, France 1976 - )

Provenance

Studio van Vincent Munier

Literature

Vincent Munier, Le monograph, 2023,
The Forest Bird
Arctic
Tibet
Solitudes I, II
Au fil des Songes

Detail Description

Wildlife photographer Vincent Munier (1976, Vosges, France) has always been surrounded by and part of nature. Ever since his early childhood when he bivouacked in the forests on the lookout for the tiniest creatures and his first magic moments to his later adventures experiencing thrilling encounters with larger hunting animals such as lynxes, brown and polar bears and wolves.



As a winner of many international photography awards and nominees, - Munier won multiple times the acclaimed BBC Wildlife photographer of the year award - something particular is setting the works of Munier apart from other wildlife photography.



In order to be forgotten by the animals or not to be perceived at all, increasingly distant quests and long periods of patience are needed. In resonance with his modest personal character, his works are examples of silence and decidedly rustic. They are testimonies of making himself completely invisible and non-existent. As if there was no human present.



To be able to approach physically as well as mentally the animals in their own habitat, one needs to know a myriad of behavioural, physiological and psychological traits and how the species adapts to seasonal changes and lights. Munier's images are also proof of this phenomenon.



Since these creatures are the true legitimate inhabitants of nature, it is adamant we as humans have to pay them more respect. By using not only his own instinct but also inspiration from minimalism and Japanese ink op paper works from the 14th - 16h century of enthralling landscapes, Munier has found a unique perspective of the rich and complex reality of the natural world.



Vincent Munier is not so much recording nature but finding constructed compositions that include the atmosphere of the environment that these animals live in. These compositions consist of the tranquillity of their surroundings as well as the linear construction and sensibility of the force of nature.