For his project VANISHING (2005) Antonin Kratochvil spent sixteen years recording things all over the world that are being seriously harmed or on the point of disappearing. For instance, he photographed gold mining in Guyana, which involves the use of large quantities of cyanide. The use of this poisonous substance has serious consequences for the landscape and for public health. In Bolivia he focused on the once flourishing tin mining, which is now being closed down as a result of bad management. In the Congo Kratochvil photographed the illegal trade in threatened animal species, and in Ecuador the oil polluted environment. One and all, they are not issues that stand high on the world's agenda; nonetheless they have dire consequences for nature and the environment, and therefore for mankind.

For thirty years now Antonin Kratochvil (Czech Republic, b. 1947) has been publishing in leading periodicals around the world. He is a co-founder of VII, the photo agency with which James Nachtwey is also associated.

Courtesy VII Photo, United States