Anyone who has been to Alaska will testify to its untamed beauty. Tim Plowden’s visit to the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska and its annual salmon migration struck him with revelatory awe; witnessing thousands of Pacific pink salmon was a spell-binding spectacle of sight, smell and sound. Their story enthralled him - a final selfless journey. The return of the salmon.
His first sighting of the salmon migration was shared with a bearded old man. Possibly intrigued by Tim’s fascination, as he watched the aquatic scene unfold before him, the old man readily shared insights from his long years as a local fishing guide into the salmon’s odyssey. It only intrigued Tim further and sealed his resolution to pay tribute to this remarkable fish on its last journey back to its natal rivers. Their final resting place.
The elderly stranger enthusiastically showed him a way through the forest down to the water. The place where he foresaw his story would begin. Following the ancient tracks of bears and wolves in the moss and lichen covered forest, the sweet scent of conifers gave way to the suffocating stench of decaying flesh from the salmon carcasses littering the creek. In the water, these determined long-distance swimmers hustled and bustled, jostling like commuters crossing London Bridge, all with one inexorable purpose: survival. This was the story he felt compelled to document, both in photographs and in video. His journey had just begun.
The collaboration started with a search for music to accompany Tim’s story of the salmon. He had envisioned a piece reflecting the wildness of Alaska as he experienced it. A fruitless search prompted him to contemplate a hiatus on the project when an unexpected email, unwittingly marked the beginning of a creative collaboration which helped his vision for the video to materialise. Christel explains, “While leafing through Tim’s hauntingly beautiful images, I immediately imagined the music to accompany them and so, I wrote to him”.
Alaskan based composer, Christel Veraart, voiced an interest to offer her music for Tim’s images. Christel’s music is reflective of the wilderness, power and beauty of Alaska. So the decision to collaborate was unanimous. Tim describes what he thought on hearing Christel’s music for the first time, “I knew instantly that we should work together. What I hear in Christel's music, is what I see in my images of Alaska”. They both felt their work complimented each others perfectly, drawing inspiration from the same source – the wilds of Alaska
The long-distance collaboration was built on commitment and a shared desire to see a successful union of two creative minds in fusing images with music. “The distance didn’t cause any delays or problems”, says Tim and Christel adds, “The time difference between us turned out to be a productive one, as it meant we could be on a 24-hour work schedule”. Hours of emails, telephone conferencing, strategising and planning resulted in a foundation which was then built upon and crafted with care. “Tim has a background in project management. This was incredibly helpful and provided us with a framework that I’m certain prevented all kinds of obstacles later on”, Christel explains. Both artists embraced each other’s unique insights, exploring fresh possibilities whilst still adhering to deadlines. This helped the creative process to thrive and the co-production progressed smoothly. The result is a poetic pairing of works, and as Christel says, “It was as if the two had always belonged together”.
Watch the "The Return Of The Salmon"
For more information on Tim Plowden and Christel Veraart's collaboration, please visit the website: www.returnofthesalmon.com.
