Lev Granovsky / Hephaestus Vulcan

Curator: Olga Sviblova

Presented by the Museum «Moscow House of Photography»

The Tolbachik volcano in Kamchatka erupted thirty years ago. Photographs of this eruption by Vadim Gippenreiter have circulated the world. It was only two years later that I arrived at Tolbachik in my capacity as geologist. And for another twenty-five years I envied those who witnessed the birth of this volcano.

Then I was standing with my camera near the liquid lava sources flowing from Kilauea volcano. I am overwhelmed by the force, the beauty and grandeur of this process. The bright molten rock that transfixes the onlooker, the ominous rumble of moving lava, the stench of ash and sulphur. So ecstatic I almost lost my senses, it was difficult to think how I could capture the scene.

A year later I was back in Kilauea. As the lava surface solidifies it is covered by a crust of glass. This glass mirrors the sky and we see reflected light from the lava stream.

Then Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. Splashes of lava fly from the bowels of the earth, cool in mid-air and fall to the ground as solidified lumps. Some are the size of a small house. Lava flows across the glacier in clouds of steam and the lava cascade tumbles down the ravine with a roar.
This is the size and power of volcanism, the magnificent breath of the Earth.

After shooting the eruptions I considered my future plans and had the idea of comparing metallurgical and volcanic processes. With this goal in mind I set off for the Cherepovets metallurgical works. The spectacle of steelmaking was striking. I have no words to describe what I saw. Maybe photographs can convey the emotions evoked when you set eyes on a manmade miracle.

Lev Granovsky