The Simple Life

Photographer Robin Friend - like idols Werner Herzog and Edward Burtynsky—is inspired by the "battle" between man and nature. Traveling worldwide, he photographs archetypal symbols of former modes of living—a white horse, a shipwreck, a woodsman’s bonfire - and is fascinated by the ambiguity of these scenes for a modern viewer. "I was trying to connect with primeval urges," he says of his series Belly of the Whale, which he has been slowly compiling over the last three years. "It’s not important where these places are—I’m hoping the viewer will fill in their own blanks and relate to the images from their own experiences." Friend is featured in the upcoming Thames & Hudson title reGeneration 2, launching at Switzerland’s Musee de L’Elysee in June.