Earth From Above: Bangkok Art & Photography Event by Zen

AT THE ANNUAL BANGKOK ART & PHOTOGRAPHY EVENT by ZEN 3 June – 9 September 2008 At the Zen Outdoor Arena and Amphitheater Zone, Central World, Bangkok, Thailand Monday – Thursday: 10.00 – 22.00 Friday – Sunday: 10.00 – 23.00 Admission is free. EARTH FROM ABOVE: AN AERIAL PORTRAIT OF OUR PLANET Towards A Sustainable Development The spectacular aerial images of Yann Arthus Bertrand have toured 110 cities and have been seen by more than 120 million people. Documenting the realities of our changing earth from new and exciting angles, they present a variety of natural habitats and expressions of life, inspiring you to consider sustainable development and the future of our planet. Earth From Above: An Aerial Portrait of Our Planet opened in Bangkok for the first on 3 June and showcases 120 stunning aerial photographs taken above more than 100 different countries. Each image features an informative caption explaining man’s imprint and assault on his environment. Source: ZEN@CentralWorld Image and Text © Yann Arthus-Bertrand Heart in Voh, New Caledonia (French Overseas Territory) (20°56′ S, 164°39′ E) A mangrove swamp is a semi-aquatic forest common to muddy tropical coastlines with fluctuating tides. Made up of halophytes (plants that can grow in a saline environment), with a predominance of mangroves, these swamps cover almost one-quarter of tropical coasts and a total of some 56,000 square miles (15 million hectares) worldwide. This represents only half of their original extent, because these fragile swamps are continually shrinking due to the overexploitation of resources, agricultural and urban expansion, the creation of shrimp farms, and pollution. The mangrove nonetheless remains as indispensable to sea fauna and to the equilibrium of the shoreline as it is to the local economy. New Caledonia, a group of Pacific islands covering 7,000 square miles (18,575 km2), has 80 square miles (200 km2) of a fairly low (25 to 33 feet, or 8 to 10 m) but very dense mangrove swamp, primarily on the west coast of the largest island, Grande Terre. At certain spots in the interior that are not reached by seawater except at high tides, vegetation gives way to bare, over salted stretches called “tannes,” such as this one near the town of Voh, where nature has carved this clearing in the form of a heart. Introducing YANN ARTHUS-BERTRAND One of the World’s Most Celebrated Photographers “The Earth is art, the photography is only a witness,” says Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Easily ranking as one of the most published photojournalists in the world, Yann has spent the last three decades flying in hot-air balloons, planes and helicopters over more than 100 countries and every continent, covering a single subject: the world we live in as seen from above. His spectacular books of landscape photography have sold a staggering three-million copies. His exhibition, Earth From Above: An Aerial Portrait of Our Planet, opens for the first time in Bangkok on 3 June at ZEN@CentralWorld, and has already been seen by more than 120-million people in over 100 countries. Highly graphic, Yann’s pictures are compelling art, with an arresting visual perspective that involve hours of preparation and logistics. His images require not only perfect weather conditions, but highly competent pilots and special flight clearances from governments who sometimes worry he is a spy. Yann’s work, which is completed under the patronage of UNESCO and for which he has received France’s highest artistic honours, has developed into a larger mission. He clearly illustrates mankind’s impact – and in many cases, assault – on the environment. Each photograph documents the state of the planet at the turn of the millennium, inviting us to think about climate change, sustainable development and the future of life on Earth. Aware of the impact of his own activities on the planet, Yann has founded the GoodPlanet.org organization and actioncarbone.org, with the goal of acting and encouraging others to act in favour of sustainable development. Web sites: http://www.yannarthusbertrand.org Action Carbone When Yann Arthus-Bertrand set up the Action Carbone programme, he had one goal in mind – to reduce his personal impact on climate change. By funding projects in the fields of energy-efficiency, renewable energies and reforestation, Yann Arthus-Bertrand hopes to offset the greenhouse gas emissions caused by his activities. Good Planet has created the Action Carbone programme, in collaboration with its chairman, Yann Arthus Bertrand. His aim is to encourage businesses, institutions and citizens to do the same — to tackle climate change to protect mankind. Source: The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand Bulletin dated 3 June 2008 Web site: www.goodplanet.org A non-profit association for the promotion of Sustainable Development chaired by Yann Arthus-Bertrand Related web site http://www.earthfromabove.com Image and Text © Yann Arthus-Bertrand Agricultural landscape near Cognac, Charente, France (N 45°42′ W 0°17′) In the nineteenth century phylloxera, an aphid-like insect, ravaged the vineyards of Charente along with nearly half of all French vines. A major part of the grape stocks of this region was replaced by cereal plantings, which still predominate in the landscape. The vineyards were gradually restored around the city of Cognac, where the production of the liquor of the same name has steadily increased. Growing on chalky soil, the ugni blanc grape (known locally as saint-émilion) yields a wine that is distilled and aged in oak casks, giving rise to cognac. The stock currently being aged exceeds the equivalent of 1 billion bottles. The trade name Cognac is reserved to this area alone, limited by legal decree since 1909, and is divided into six vintages. The Cognac region is home to more than 15,000 vineyards in an area of 350 square miles (900 km2), producing more than 190 million bottles of this prestigious beverage per year; more than 90 per cent is exported, chiefly to the United States and Japan but also to other European countries. Image and Text © Yann Arthus-Bertrand Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States (44°31’ N, 110°50’ W) Situated on a volcanic plateau that straddles the states of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, Yellowstone is the oldest national park in the world. Created in 1872, it covers 3,500 square miles (9,000 km²) and contains the world’s largest concentration of geothermic sites, with more than 10,000 geysers, fumaroles, and hot springs. Grand Prismatic Spring, 370 feet (112 m) in diameter, is the park’s largest hot pool and third-greatest in the world. The color spectrum for which it is named is caused by the presence of cyanobacteria, whose growth in hot water is greater at the periphery where the temperature is lower. Declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1976 and a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978, Yellowstone National Park receives an average of 3 million visitors per year. The North America continent, which contains the five most visited natural sites in the world, is visited by between 80 and 90 million tourists per year—11 percent of world tourism in numbers, but almost 18 per cent in revenues.