James & other Apes

#JAPES

James Mollison

James & other Apes

#JAPES

© James Mollison

The great apes are our closest biological relatives. 

We recognise so much of ourselves in them, yet we know so little about them.

Over the course of four years, and across four separate continents, the British photographer James Mollison photographed over fifty great apes.

In ape sanctuaries and in the wild, he photographed chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and bonobos, capturing the unique character and spirit of each ape using the aesthetic of a passport photograph.

“We think of them as different species. But they each have their own individual traits and characters, which are very familiarly human. We are different from a lot of animals. But the great apes ask us questions about ourselves, because they are so close to us.”

In doing so, Mollison explored how apes uniquely connect with us. How they can act as avatars of our inner selves, our past and maybe our future too.

“I can remember looking at their faces and just thinking how similar they are to us” Mollison says of photographing a troop of gorillas in the Congo.

These powerful portraits are now available as exclusive NFT editions of one. Early investors will also receive an archive-quality physical print. The collection is now live on OpenSea – buy your favourite Jape at OpenSea.io/collection/JAPES.

10% of the net proceeds raised will be donated to the sanctuaries in Africa who rescued these great apes and invited James in with his camera.

#JAPES Drop timeline

Greenlist: closed

Presale: closed

Drop date: 29th March 2022 (live now)

Community and information

Greenlist and presale have closed

All NFTs are editions of one, unlockable benefits including a 20″ archive quality print

Remaining editions have been listed at 0.75 ETH, with #RAREJAPES listed at 0.9 ETH

The #RARESTJAPES Chimanzee, Bonobo, Orangutan and Gorilla are listed at 1.1 ETH

There will be announcements soon about the JAPES community post sale, including a private invite discord channel for owners

Join the #JAPES discord channel

Set a reminder for the spaces between James and OpenSea on Tuesday

Official partners

ART3 are delighted to be presenting ‘James and Other Apes’ alongside our trusted partners supporting #JAPES, including Jenny Metaverse DAO and OpenSea

“OpenSea are excited to be partnering with ART3 to bring unique traditional photography to the blockchain.”

“We as Jenny Dao like to help and support strong photographers who want to make the transition to the NFT world. We are collecting #JAPES because we think that James Mollison’s ‘James and Other Apes’ is a valuable project that bridges the gap between traditional art and NFT art.”

Stories about the artist and inspiration behind #JAPES

About James Mollison

James is a British photographer who started life in Kenya, grew up in England and now lives in Venice. His work is defined by original concepts applied to social and cultural themes. After studying Art and Design at Oxford Brookes University and then film and photography at Newport School of Art and Design, he moved to Italy to work at Benetton’s creative lab, Fabrica, later working as creative editor of Colors Magazine with Patrick Waterhouse.

James has won a multitude of awards including the Royal Photographic Society’s Vic Odden Award for notable achievement in the art of photography by a British photographer aged 35 or under.

He is the author of several books including ‘Where Children Sleep’, an ongoing project about children around the world and their bedrooms, a new edition of which will be published by Aperture in 2022.

His work has appeared in publications throughout the world and been extensively exhibited and collected by some of the most notable museums and institutions.

Read more about James and see his other projects at jamesmollison.com and follow him on twitter @MollisonJames

James & Other Apes: #JAPES

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