I am a fine art documentary photographer. Through long-term photographic projects I tell stories with images about human culture that are deeply meaningful to me, and I would hope, to many.
Explore this site and you will see that I also wear other hats. I have written and created books, co-curated a traveling museum exhibition, raised two daughters, offered public presentations, a TEDx, written articles and founded and ran a pioneering cultural tourism company in Oaxaca, Mexico.
All of these projects, creations and efforts have focused around the same thing; celebrating the art of rooted humanity.
All of the work I do is motivated by a deeply felt yearning to explore, learn and celebrate what is wise, ancient and rooted in our human world. This desire has been alive within me since I was a child. There is much of what might be called birthright that my cultural circle has forgotten and has not known how to teach.
It has become my life’s calling to search out teachers of beautiful humanness and learn their lessons. These are lessons about rootedness; an intimate relationship with a place on this planet, a community of kin, stories of meaning and soulful knowledge. These are lessons about feeling a connection and reverence for this earth, the source of all we have, and connection to each other. These are lessons about humility, simplicity and the sacredness of everyday life. These lessons cannot be shared enough. What has been forgotten for generations must be taught and retaught. These are lessons that polish the beauty of existence.
I have spent long and rich hours among such teachers in the old communities of Oaxaca, Mexico which was my home for 25 years. Purpose driven travel has also taken me to South America and India. In these places I have found my mentors; indigenous potters, weavers and old-time trades people, peasant farmers, goat herds and rural cooks. They teach by being, not by saying, and the qualifications to learn are curiosity, patience and humble respect.
Contact: eric@ericmindling.com
