Serpent in the Wilderness

MSP Terminal 1, SEE18 Gallery

From ashrams and caves throughout India to living rooms across America, Serpent in the Wilderness reveals hidden layers and rarely seen dimensions of a profound spiritual path and way of life. This exhibition and monograph is a visual exploration of yoga that emerged from photographer Andy Richter’s personal practice and experience. After studying yoga for years, he decided to use his medium—photography—to search for the essence of the teachings. For more than half a decade, he traveled to places that are historically relevant to yoga’s past, as well as to places that embody its living present, documenting a variety of yoga traditions with many of the world’s great saints and yogis. While this ancient Indian science has roots in Hindu mythology and doctrine, today it is mainstream, global, and growing in popularity. A method of self-realization and a state of being, yoga encourages greater equanimity and awareness, a calm mind, a healthy body, and a compassionate heart.

Serpent in the Wilderness, is available as a photographic book (Kehrer Verlag 2018) at www.andyrichterphoto.com/serpent-in-the-wilderness.

Artist Biography

Andy Richter is a photographer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota whose work embodies a desire to see past surface illusions to a deeper, more universal truth. Richter immerses himself in his subject and its wider context, exploring such themes as aging and loss, self and cultural transformation, presence and spirituality with the heightened awareness that the camera brings. Far from a neutral observer, he is emotionally and experientially invested in his subjects, using color and light to engage the viewer and evoke inner experience.
Richter studied photography at the University of Minnesota and graduated with honors with degrees in Spanish and Psychology in 1999. He spent the next several years climbing and photographing in the great mountain ranges of the world, where he feels he learned how to really see. Upon returning to Minnesota in 2006, his focus shifted from landscape photography to experiential documentary, portraiture and fine art. His recently completed work, Serpent in the Wilderness, was published in 2018 with Kehrer Verlag, and sheds new light on the ancient science of yoga, documenting rarely seen aspects across cultures.

Richter’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. He has received numerous awards and been recognized by American Photography, Photolucida, the International Photography Awards, and the Minnesota State Arts Board. His photographs have been featured in The New York Times, GEO, Time, Smithsonian, The Washington Post, AFAR, Mother Jones, UN Women, The Trust for Public Land and UNICEF, among others.

Please visit www.andyrichterphoto.com to view additional photographs from the series and to purchase copies of the book, and to acquire limited edition prints.

@andyrichterphoto is on Instagram.