Edition 2017

The cow and the orchid

Generic colombian photography

More than a decade has passed since I started to collect photos from Colombia. Sometimes they have come in ones or twos at other moments as veritable waterfalls. Their diversity in subject, region and date has been a revelation. They have helped me understand a little of this incredible country although in reality my comprehension is still minimal. Colombia like photography is never quite what it seems. There is always comedy which is sometimes also tragedy. La Vaca y la Orquídea weaves together different strands of vernacular vision to create a layered collage that draws on the diversity of the environment. From the Caribbean and Pacific coasts through the Andes to the fertile plains, from the Amazon Jungle to the heaving cities unknown, images have been sourced and can now be seen here. I have used two national icons to articulate the vision for the exhibition, the cow and the orchid.
Timothy Prus

Exhibition curator: Timothy Prus, with the Archive of Modern Conflict collection.
Wallpaper and framing by Atelier SHL, Arles.
Exhibition organized as part of the Année France-Colombie 2017, with a Sponsoring Committee composed of: AccorHotels, Airbus, Axa Colpatria, Oberthur Fiduciaire, L’Oréal, Groupe Renault, Sano, Veolia, BNP Paribas, Groupe Casino, Schneider Electric, VINCI, and Poma.
With support from Nespresso.

  • Institutional partners

    • République Française
    • Région Provence Alpes Côté d'Azur
    • Département des Bouches du Rhône
    • Arles
    • Le Centre des monuments nationaux est heureux de soutenir les Rencontres de la Photographie d’Arles en accueillant des expositions dans l’abbaye de Montmajour
  • Main partners

    • Fondation LUMA
    • BMW
    • SNCF
    • Kering
  • Media partners

    • Arte
    • Lci
    • Konbini
    • Le Point
    • Madame Figaro
    • France Culture