Photographing the Bare Bones of Evolution

Patrick Gries is a photographer with a reputation in luxury goods, design, and contemporary art. In his series Evolution, his atypical approach to the collection of vertebrates at the Muséum d'Hisorie Naturelle has garnered attention from a different sphere, scientists. Evolution captures over 250 of the museum's skeletons as sculptures that straddles the line between art and science. The exhibition has been in France and Denmark, and there are plans for a show in Tokyo. But no need to buy a plane ticket, you can get all the work from his coffee table format book.

The photographs were shot with strong directional light and are accompanied with text by scientist, documentarian, and professor emeritus at Paris’ Museum of Natural History, Dr. Jean-Baptiste de Panafieu.

“New forms have evolved from old ones. Stubby amphibian feet have been transformed into hooves, bird wings and whale flippers. Yet many of the bones in those original limbs have not changed their relationship to the rest. They have just been stretched, flattened or reduced to vestigial knobs. Along the paths of evolution, the vertebrate skeleton has been transformed into similar forms many times over — aardvarks in Africa and anteaters in South America.”

My quote on the topic is "evolution is beautiful." Here are a few of my favorites:

You can find more information and pictures here:

Patrick Gries Website

NY Times "Skeletons Flesh Out Life's Past"

Unknown Editors

The Guardian "A bone to pick"

Beautiful Decay "Patrick Gries’ Photographs Of Skeletons Combine Art and Scientific Inquiry About Evolution"