Exploring Global Carnival Traditions: Jason Gardner’s We the Spirits
Welcome to this edition of [book spotlight]. Today, we uncover the layers of 'We the Spirits,' by Jason Gardner (published by GOST Books). We'd love to read your comments below about these insights and ideas behind the artist's work.
Imagine stepping into a world where vibrant colors, lively music, and mysterious masks transport you to another time. Photographer Jason Gardner invites us on such an enchanting journey in his new book, We the Spirits. Over fifteen years, Gardner traveled to fifteen different countries, capturing the magic and mystery of traditional Carnival celebrations. These aren’t the flashy street parades you might see on TV; instead, Gardner explored hidden gems—remote villages and small towns where Carnival is celebrated in its most authentic form. With the guidance of local experts and ethnographers, he immersed himself in these rich traditions, snapping incredible photos that bring the spirit of each festival to life.
Gardner’s adventure was about more than just taking pictures. He became a part of each festival, mingling with locals dressed in elaborate costumes and masks. His photos go beyond the typical party scene, revealing the deep cultural roots and unique customs of Carnival around the world. By connecting with the people and their stories, Gardner captured moments that show how these festivals are more than just fun—they’re a way for communities to honor their ancestors and keep their heritage alive. We the Spirits is a stunning collection of these amazing moments, telling a story that connects us to the past and highlights the creativity and spirit of people everywhere.
Each photograph in We the Spirits is a testament to Gardner’s dedication and respect for the cultures he documented. His work challenges the common perception of Carnival as merely a wild street party. Instead, he reveals a complex and vibrant cultural phenomenon, showcasing the diverse traditions that unite people across different regions. Whether it’s the winter masquerades of Europe or the lively parades of Trinidad, Gardner’s images show the universal themes of life, death, and rebirth that run through these celebrations. His book is not just a visual feast but also a deep dive into the human experience and our need to celebrate, remember, and connect.
Global Tapestry of Carnival: With "We the Spirits," you embarked on a 15-year journey documenting Carnival across 15 countries. What initially drew you to explore this theme globally, and how did you decide which countries and traditions to include in your project?
It started when I photographed my first book, A Flower in the Mouth, in the northeast of Brazil, a state called Pernambuco. I made four or five visits over eight years, each visit being a month. I went deep into this culture, but there were years where I couldn’t visit Brazil, so I started to explore other places for Carnival just to see the differences. I went to Trinidad & Tobago, Cajun country in Louisiana in United States, and a few other places. So when I moved to Europe, I wanted to explore more of the Carnival culture here. We the Spirits is a monograph of medium-format portraits of traditional Carnival characters.
Collaborative Insights: Your project involved collaborations with ethnographers and local experts. How did these partnerships inform your photographic process and deepen your understanding of the Carnival traditions you captured?
It was important to collaborate with ethnographers and participants of the culture, because they informed me of the most traditional, folkloric rituals, and advised me on the best times to go, how to plan my schedule to see the best aspects of the festivals, and of course in general they provided excellent context as to the overall and historical meanings of each masquerade.
Memorable Moments: Among the numerous festivals and traditions you've documented, is there a specific moment or story that stands out to you as particularly impactful or transformative in your understanding of Carnival?
I really enjoyed nearly every Carnival I’ve photographed, and it’s difficult to select which ones are particularly the “best” – many people ask me this! I’ve photographed the project for over 15 years, throughout 15 countries.
The Iberian Peninsula of Spain and Portugal are particularly rich in masquerade tradition. The region of Galicia, in northwest Spain, as well the Bragança area of Portugal, Extremadura, Cantabria, and Asturias have very strong manifestations of this winter tradition.
I particularly enjoyed La Vijanera, a festival in Cantabria that celebrates the transition of the new year with good omens. In addition to fighting evil, the rite promotes the fertility of the land. More than 150 people participate in the tradition, embodying 80 different costumes throughout the various acts that take place on the first Sunday of January.
As well, the mountainous region of Nuoro in Sardinia had an extremely interesting masquerade culture, and there’s a rich tradition of pust (Carnival) in Slovenia, where I spent multiple weeks traveling to many villages – for a small country it had quite a diverse range of Carnival culture!
Challenges and Adaptations: Documenting a wide array of Carnival traditions over 15 years undoubtedly posed several challenges. Could you share one of the most significant hurdles you encountered and how you adapted your photographic approach to overcome it?
I guess I met with resistance in two major cases. In one, even though it was a small village, it's very well known, and there were a lot of photographers in town taking photos. So the challenge is, you start to become just one of the masses. One way I treat that is by slowing down and shooting film, to differentiate myself. I shoot a lot of portraits, most of them, 99 percent are shot with film. So the medium format camera is a rangefinder, a very slow camera and what I mean by slow it's not like snap, snap. It is manual focus, a very particular thing that happens. My subjects are of course aware that I’m using this film camera, and there’s more respect to the photograph. There are other photographers who make a separate appointment with them to get dressed for them. They bring in four lights with an assistant, and do a whole other thing. I tend to do very natural light and in the moment, in the field, very little location scouting if any and that kind of gets the patina of what's going on. I don’t want to interrupt the ritual and respect that by either photographing them before or after the event.
The second obstacle is when they're getting dressed. It’s interesting photographically because there are fewer people around, and you get to see how they build their persona. But sometimes they say they don't want anything published of them not in costume. So I respect that. In general, it's a happy, relatively positive cultural manifestation and they're proud of it, and I'm proud to treat it in that respect.
Costumes and Identity: The elaborate costumes and masks are central to Carnival's expression. In your view, how do these elements serve as a conduit for deeper cultural narratives or personal identities within the communities you photographed?
I chose We the Spirits as the title and “spirits” as the word because I’m also fascinated by the people: why they do this thing? And inevitably, when you ask them, they say, “well, we’ve always done it this way, and this is our tradition, this is our blood, this is who we are, this is our identity.” And this is a fine answer but not the whole story.
I’m fascinated that this ancient, pre-Christian, animistic, pagan tradition is still happening in the modern day. And it’s happening with a connection to hundreds of generations before it as an homage to these ancestors. I’m also fascinated by is modern trance, the fact that they put on this mask, and they transform and become the spirit.
There was someone in Sardinia who played the Sa Filonzana character. He said: “when I wear this mask, I can never die … I connect to ten, one hundred, a thousand generations past.”
Some people told me in the Fête de l’Ours in the Oriental Pyrenees in France, “when I put on this oil, and I put on this costume, I don’t really know what happens. I can’t tell you what happened. I just go into this other space. It’s only when I come out of it that I will remember what occurs going forward, but that space is a little lost in time.” And that translates to me as the sort of profound way you treat the winter masquerade as a separate space. Time and rules do not matter; you kind of forget your regular quotidian schedules.
Reflective Journey: Looking back on the extensive process of creating "We the Spirits," how has immersing yourself in the global Carnival tradition for over a decade influenced your perspective on cultural diversity, human expression, and the shared aspects of human experience?
The Carnival brings forth some timeless themes: Winter and spring; barren and fertile; life and death; beauty and ugliness; light and dark; ritual and reality; chaos and order. So this winter masquerade, in each place, each village and city, it is expressed in a different manner, but it is illustrating and reinforcing these universal themes – in a way they are all different but they are all the same, in providing a profound way for humans to express themselves.
Overall, my goal is to dispel the stereotype of Carnival as just a party and parade in the streets, and show that it is deeply cultural experience and manifestation of the participants’ identity in modern society, by which they honor the ancestors in continuing their traditions.
To discover more about this intriguing body of work and how you can acquire your own copy, you can find and purchase the book here. (Jason’s Website, GOST Books)
Jason Gardner
Jason Gardner is an inspiring American photographer who splits his time between the bustling streets of Paris and New York. He is known for his incredible ability to tell stories through his photos, focusing on music, culture, and traditions. Gardner’s journey into photography began with a deep curiosity about the world and a desire to capture the essence of human experiences. His first book, A Flower in the Mouth, published in 2013, explored the vibrant Carnival culture of Pernambuco, Brazil, and received widespread acclaim for its vivid portrayal of this unique festival.
Gardner’s latest project, We the Spirits, has been recognized as one of the Top 50 portfolios by Photolucida’s Critical Mass in 2022, further cementing his reputation as a leading photographer in the field of visual anthropology. His work has been showcased in major cities around the world, including Paris, New York, New Orleans, Toronto, and São Paulo. Publications like GEO Magazine France, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Le Parisien have featured his captivating photographs, which highlight his talent for capturing the beauty and complexity of human traditions. Gardner’s passion for documenting cultural rituals shines through in every photo he takes, making his work a valuable contribution to our understanding of the world’s diverse cultures. (Website, Instagram)
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