God’s Allies (1996-2018)

Bol became fascinated by the playful, intelligent and ever-alert ravens and crows. He has been photographing them for over twenty years. Their black, menacing appearance can evoke fear, even associations with death. Yet in some cultures they are symbols of good luck. Ravens and crows were already admired in antiquity and even worshipped. The story goes that the ruler of the gods Odin sent his two ravens Hugin (‘thought’) and Munin (‘memory’) down to earth to take a critical look at humans. The rhythm in the photographs of Hans Bol – often considerably enlarged, coarse-grained cut outs – depicts how these birds descend on earth and take off again, back to the gods. ‘God’s Allies’ was published as a photobook in 2018.