Sophie Howarth Photography
Soaring – The Golden Eagle Festival of Mongolia
Summary of Exhibition for Art Space on The Concourse, 2017
409 Victoria Ave, Chatswood, Sydney, Australia.
Opening 2nd November from 6-9pm
Exhibition dates 1-19th November
Hours 11-5pm Wed – Sunday
After Hours Fri 3rd & Sat 4th until 10pm
Soaring The Golden Eagle Festival of Mongolia is a photography exhibition. The
exhibition focuses on the Kazakh Eagle Hunters of Mongolia and their tradition of horseback
eagle falconry. This tradition is celebrated each October at the annual Golden Eagle Festival
where there are a series of games that showcase the speed, agility, accuracy and Kazakh
dress of the eagle and trainer. It marks the beginning of the hunting season. My exhibition
includes images of the two day festival, the unique experiences that I had outside the the
festival during my times there with the eagle hunters and their families. My exhibition
includes a portrait of the eagle which continues to have a mythical resonance in the Asian
eagle hunting nations of Mongolia, southern Siberia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and
Kyrgyzstan. My work is a study of reverie, a powerful alchemy that the performer and
audience inspire, exist in, and respond to during the cycle of a festival. A presence that
everyone has a part in, that brings an otherworldliness to the occasion; an atmosphere of
something greater than ourselves.
