Bolivia’s Nature Art

The world’s most stunning landscapes

Cactus forest on island in salt pan

The Salar de Uyuni on the Bolivian Altiplano is the largest salt pan on earth. At an altitude of over 3600m it covers an area of about 10,000 km2. Standing in the middle of the salar and seeing white all the way to the horizon you wonder if this place really is part of our earth and not a landscape from another planet. What is equally impressive is the presence of total silence; no leaves rustling in the wind, no bird song, nothing that will remotely remind you of any form of life. I could have said “absence of any sound” but instead used “presence of total silence”. Contrary to absence the word presence has a more positive ring to it. In a world to a large degree conquered by us humans with all kinds of pollution attached to the process – including noise pollution – it has become almost a spiritual experience not to hear any sound at all. But not only is the Salar silent but also clean, pure and of a rare kind of beauty. I have never seen or experienced anything similar to this white lifeless desert. I felt totally at ease and not lost at all as we often do when extreme natural environments remind us of our fragility.

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Limited Fine Art Print Salt Mounts”

And yet it is not us who are fragile. The Salar de Uyuni faces the threat of destruction. The salt crust contains more than 50% of the world’s lithium reserves. Lithium is largely used in batteries. Batteries become more important as we move more and more towards alternative energies and use them as a storage medium in hybrid or electric vehicles and for solar power. The Salar de Uyuni is a classic example for the dilemma we are constantly facing on our earth. How can we keep a healthy balance between preserving nature and human development?

Salar de Uyuni

Limited Fine Art Prints Passing Patterns

I visited the Salar de Uyuni 3 times in order to capture it in such a way that would not only emphasize its the vastness and  emptiness but also its otherworldly beauty. I hope I am able to express my feelings for this unusual place with my fine art print Passing Patterns“. A perfect example for Bolivia’s Nature Art which can be found in other regions on the Altiplano as well.

Theo Allofs

All images © copyright Theo Allofs

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