By James Gritz
I moved to Mexico in 2013. I have always felt the sangre of Mexico has moved through my veins. When I was younger, I apprenticed for 10 years with a Huichol shaman who lived in Tepic, Nayarit. His name was Guadalupe Gonzales Rios. We made two pilgrimages every year. One was to Wirikuta, the sacred land of the Huichols near Real de Catorce, and the other to Mount Picacho, where it is said the spirit of the “Arbol de Viento” lives.
I have always lived between worlds. From a young age, I was after something beyond this ordinary material world; comparative religion was my major at university. In photography, I am self-taught.
I started taking pictures of life around me when I was 18 and haven’t put the camera down since. For me, photography offers a door to our inner experience and allows for creative ways to connect that to the world outside. I also see photography as a tool for my Buddhist practice; it’s a way to join the flow of life moment by moment.
Much of my photographic career has involved underwater, nature, and landscape photography. Then came a shift to travel and street photography. In 2005, I spent six months in eastern Tibet working with a film crew photographing the monastic lives of the nuns of Nangchen. In 2008, I was hired by an important Tibetan lama of the Drugpa Kargyu school to photograph his extensive monasteries in India, Ladakh, Zangskar, Bhutan, and Nepal. I was able to merge my interest in Tibetan Buddhism with my love of photography. Other travels have taken me to Europe, Mexico, and the United States—from Colorado to Alaska and Hawaii on land and sea.
My latest work involves a fusion of photographic images and textures. I am exploring how to convey the thin boundary between dreams and so-called waking reality. One could say that all perception is just a projection of mind. My upcoming photo show titled “Entre Mundos, Between Worlds” begins on September 10 5 – 8 PM at Galería Blue Moon, in Lavinias Art House, Calzada de la Estacion 151.
About
The work of James Gritz has been published in numerous books and magazines and exhibited in Europe, Mexico, and the United States. His work is represented by Getty Images, Robert Harding, Glass House Images, and other photo agencies. He made a documentary film in India called “Never Give Up.” The trailer can be viewed on YouTube. James has given street and travel workshops in Mexico, Europe, and the United States. He’s currently working on a book titled “La Vida Mexicana.”
Selected Publications: Outside Magazine, National Geographic (online), New Age Journal, Shambhala Sun, Worth, Diversion, Audubon, Bodhi Magazine, GEO, Stern, Oceans (Harper Collins-contributor and photo editor), and Spirit of the Whale (Voyager Press), “The Book of Man” (Scribner 1994, cover photo), and many others.
