Podcast: The History of Mankind by David Yarrow
David Yarrow, interviewed in The Wealth Report 2021, tells the story behind arguably his most important photograph.
1 minute to read
When you are deciding which images to use to accompany an interview with one of the world’s most acclaimed fine art photographers you’re not going to be short of choice.
David Yarrow’s portfolio is full of stunning photographs, from iconic wildlife images to his famous shots of wolves and supermodels. But to me it was always Mankind, a hugely evocative panorama of a smoky Dinka cattle camp in war-torn South Sudan, that was the obvious choice to devote the opening spread of the article to.
Mankind was so crucial to Yarrow’s career because, after several refusals, it was the image that finally persuaded a leading US gallery owner to represent him. Now, the galleries come to him.
My interview with Yarrow covers a lot of ground and sadly there wasn’t space to go into much of Mankind’s backstory, but, by lucky coincidence, the photographer’s new podcast series In Focus featured the photograph just as The Wealth Report was launched.
In it, Yarrow recounts his journey through the world’s youngest country, awash with guns and crocodile-infested rivers, to get the image he wanted. It’s a fascinating story that, to me at least, only adds to the allure of the photograph.
Listen to the podcast below: