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James Lewin, The Queen of Tsavo, 2021
$2,500.00
James Lewin, The Queen of Tsavo, 2021
Silver gelatin print
18 x 24.25 in - Ed of 8
28 x 37.75 in - Ed of 8
28 x 37.75 in - Ed of 8
James Lewin’s The Queen of Tsavo (2021) is a commanding portrait of one of Africa’s last great matriarch elephants — a monumental figure whose presence embodies both majesty and mortality. Captured in the Tsavo ecosystem of Kenya, the image centers on a colossal elephant, her elongated tusks nearly brushing the earth as she stands before a reflective pool, framed by clouds and foliage. Through Lewin’s lens, this quiet moment becomes a monument to endurance and grace in a changing world.
The black-and-white composition amplifies the sculpture-like form of the animal, stripping away distraction to focus on texture, shadow, and scale. The deep tonal contrast — between the luminous clouds, the roughened hide, and the mirrored water — evokes a spiritual stillness, as though time itself pauses in reverence. Lewin’s perspective places the viewer at eye level with this ancient creature, transforming a photograph into an encounter: one defined by respect, intimacy, and awe.
Symbolically, the work speaks to legacy. The “Queen” stands not only as an individual but as a lineage — a living archive of evolution, resilience, and environmental memory. Her tusks, immense and curving like ivory crescents, mark her as one of the few remaining “super tuskers,” survivors of decades of poaching and habitat loss. In their grandeur, they testify to a natural history that is both noble and endangered.
Lewin’s approach is rooted in ethical fieldwork and conservation advocacy, and The Queen of Tsavo distills his mission with poetic precision. It is not a document of spectacle but a meditation on presence — the quiet power of life that persists amid fragility.
Ultimately, the photograph functions as both elegy and tribute. The Queen gazes outward with timeless patience, a guardian of memory and meaning. In her reflection, we glimpse not only the majesty of the wild but the profound responsibility of stewardship. Through Lewin’s lens, she becomes immortal — the embodiment of Africa’s untamed heart.