Envela Castel, “Long Live the Fallen World”
Envela Castel will present “Long Live the Fallen World” at the Spéos Gallery, 7 rue Jules Vallès 75011 Paris, from February 20th to March 30th.
Opening of the exhibition: February 20th from 7pm to 9pm.
“Long Live the Fallen World” started with a series called “Along the Mekong”, which came about when Envela Castel travelled over 9,000 km in 4 months across the Mekong area, so as to capture the remains of history and cultures of the Golden Age of Siam, the Pagan Kingdom and the Khmer Empire. She is now presenting a selection of photographs to bring into focus the importance of history and our knowledge about ancient civilizations for modern society. To understand where we have been and where we are from, so as to truly appreciate who we are today.
Her work aims to inspire people to learn more about themselves, via the histories from more remote cultures, in order to hopefully make the world a better place. Learning from yesterday’s mistakes could change the course of the world, which is what Envela tries to do by taking photographs of history, alongside portraits of its heirs, of “old souls”, and faces that tell a story, as a testament to the past.
Envela Castel is a French photographer specialized in portraits and history, driven by art and ancient civilizations. Introduced by her parents to foreign adventure at a young age, she since has travelled extensively: around the US, from east to west; biking through 331 km within France; trekking in the Burmese mountains and jungles, with a rifle and machete; diving in the Andaman sea; rock climbing on a Thai cliff; zip-lining through the Lao jungle and sleeping in the canopy; as well as rafting in the rapids of Nam Tha river.
Her passion for history and the great unknown is now taking her all around the world, to build a lifetime project about lost kingdoms and ancient civilizations. She combines her cinematic portrait photography with exploration and she would likely trade the comfort of the city for adventurous destinations.
Envela is a Spéos 2013 Alumni from the Professional Photography in 1 year.