When I started Ashes and Snow in 1992, I set out to explore the relationship between man and animals from the inside out.

The whales do not sing because they have an answer, they sing because they have a song.

Every culture from the Egyptians to the Mayans to the American Indians to the Bedouins created bestiaries that enabled them to express their relationship with nature. Ashes and Snow is a 21st-century bestiary filled with species from around the world. Nature’s orchestra includes not just Homo sapiens but elephants, whales, manatees, eagles, cheetahs, orangutans, and many others.

My imagination has always been inspired by nature’s vision

I spent all my time at school in the library. Bad teachers can teach you to learn on your own.

Is it only humans that look up with wonder at the stars and the vastness of the universe?

We need to renegotiate our contract with nature. Ecology is a unifying force that can diminish intolerance and expand our empathy towards others - both human and animal.