James & Other Apes

by James Mollison

Fifty great apes--chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and bonobos, our closest biological relatives--are featured in this series of portraits by James Mollison. Photographed over a span of four years in seven ape sanctuaries (in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Germany and the United States), they are mainly orphans, victims of the illicit trade in "bushmeat." Djeke, Fizi, Gregoire, James, Koto and the others are all photographed as unique individuals, in the manner of passport photographs, while representing species whose survival is under threat. Featuring case note biographies and introduced with a powerful essay by Jane Goodall, this book celebrates the great apes. The faces that look back at us also raise profound moral and scientific questions--including what it means to define ourselves "human."

Genres: Photography, Art, Nonfiction

120 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

James Mollison was born in Kenya in 1973 and grew up in England. After studying Art and Design at Oxford Brookes University, and later film and photography at Newport School of Art and Design, he moved to Italy to work at Benetton’s creative lab, Fabrica. His work has been widely published throughout the world including by Colors, The New York Times Magazine, the Guardian magazine, The Paris Review, The New Yorker and Le Monde. His latest book Disciples was published in October 2008 following its’ first exhibition at Hasted Hunt Gallery in New York. In 2007 he published The Memory of Pablo Escobar- the extraordinary story of ‘the richest and most violent gangster in history’ told by hundreds of photographs gathered by Mollison. It was the original follow-up to his work on the great apes – widely seen as an exhibition including at the Natural History Museum, London, and in the book James and Other Apes (Chris Boot, 2004). Mollison lives in Venice with his wife.

(From jamesmollison.com)

Reviews

[Linden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here Mollison presents us with a series of fifty telling images, as perhaps only a portrait photographer can. They are the intended text of the book. He has arranged the images by kind--chimpanzees, gorillas, Borneo orangutans, and bonobos--so that we can see not only the similarities within a family but also the differences within each family.

The book is arranged in four sections: an introduction by Jane Goodall; full page portraits; thumbnail photos with name, gender and species; and last, a brief biography about what is known of each. Because the portraits are full-page close-ups, and the thumbnail images are nine to a page, they help us see them more clearly as individuals, as would the pages of a yearbook.

Before Mollison's book, I had no idea of the variations that exist in ape faces. I had wondered when images of chimps or gorillas were captioned with names, how anyone knew for sure. I had imagined they were alike as crows or zebras, with a generic coloring pattern, and individual identification only possible through scars--as in whales--or abnormalities.

Jane Goodall introduces the work reminding us of how close genetically we are to apes--our DNA differs only by about one percent from that of chimpanzees. She also points out that her writing has consistently been of the individuality of each creature she studies. She sees them the way she sees people, as individuals. This prompted a connection to my own experience.

In the last ten years or so, I began to experience being noticeably different. I have found myself occasionally identified first as an old person, one of the few with gray hair here at a PS-8 school. It seems that either by habituation or using a generic or cultural shorthand, we seem to identify a minority person in a larger group of our own ethnicity primarily by their most obvious characteristics. Most often this seems to be of race, but gender and age are among the other ways.

Within our majority, however, we seem to see things quite differently. We look for a person's individual characteristics. That was what I learned from the book: we can be blind to the individual within others who are not 'us.' Or at least until we get to know them well enough to be one of us, as Mollison and Goodall ask.

This quiet and beautiful book is an important contribution to reintroduce to us a certain quality in the animals that I can't quite pinpoint. I might have said the humanity of the apes, or the individuality, but even better, perhaps the kin-ness of apes. I can no longer think of them as generic animals but individuals who each have a story behind them, just as we do, and as deserving of consideration in their endangered existence.

For the apes included here, the biographies show their past has not been a happy one. I can only hope that this book, offering its unique lesson, will help us humans change the story ahead for them and their kin.

Highly recommended.

[Phil J · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book, heartbreaking to read the stories relating to the apes in the photographs. Almost all of them had been orphaned as a result of their parents being killed for the bush meat trade.

It’s tragic that these intelligent and beautiful relatives of ours are killed.

[Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a beautiful book. Graphically speaking. The photographs were stunning. The intensity of the gazes as they starred out of the pages, unforgettable. It is one of those books that I won’t forget, and I’m so glad that I’ve now added this to my shelf. It was irreplaceably beautiful and spine tinglingly aware.

I knew from the blurb and Jane Goodall’s introduction that this was a book that was supposed to highlight our differences to apes and make us realise that our similarities are undeniable. To almost humanise the plight of the big apes so that people will be less callous about their treatment of the environment and their homes. What I didn’t expect was the spine-tingling feeling I got as I flipped through the pages. I found that I was just sitting, there, starring entranced into the eyes of each of the individuals. Learning their names as I picked up their different nuances and personalities…

This is the sort of coffee table book that I’m going to annoy my friends with. The simplicity and beauty of the pictures and the brief biographies about each ape in the back make it accessible to everyone. And it is a great way to highlight how important it is to conserve and nurture our environment. Instead of using it for our own means.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing photographs you'll want to spend time with. The oversized book let'sthe faces take center stage. Their stories are shared at the end. Just beautiful.

[Bobby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not your typical photo book and it's certainly not simply a collection of photos for mere entertainment. Jane Goodall introduces the book without spelling out its intent. She captures the spirit of the book with anecdotes about apes she has met over the years, a few of whom are included here, expressing their individuality. And that individuality is essentially what this book is "about." Each page is simply a portrait of a face. We're invited to look into each face, to stare into his or her eyes and get a sense of these apes as individuals. Easily accessible in the back of the book are short biographies to help the reader know more about what each face has been through. If you take your time with each one - this is not a book meant to be rushed through - you should find yourself more and more impressed with the expressiveness of each ape - an expressiveness that hints and the deep connection humankind has with these amazing creatures. A personal and powerful book. Well worth spending some time with these guys and gals!

[Kittiya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love photography! I felt that this was and amazing book. It's one of those books you can skim through in a few minutes or take your time with each picture. I loved all the faces in this! Then in the back, you can learn their names, species, & their life stories. Which they all are pretty much rescued, their stories are sad and moving. This was a book that not only myself but my four year old could enjoy!

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't recommend this book highly enough. Look into the eyes of our closest cousins with these huge color portraits of rescued chimps, bonobos, gorillas and orangs. Each face is a map of personality and expression. You won't ever look at an animal the same again.