Varial Cedric houin
montreal
Varial* aka Cédric Houin is a visual artist, creative director, photographer, filmmaker, explorer. He has received over 30 awards including the 1st prize National Geographic Traveler Photo 2012. He is supported by Nikon Canada and Impossible Project. Varial*'s work has been published in numerous magazines, newspapers and websites including the New York Times Lens, BBC, Smithsonian, and National Geographic. His 2013 film “Wakhan”, about the yak-herding, yurt-dwelling Wakhi and Kyrgyz nomads of remote northern Afghanistan, has received rave reviews.
His personal journey has been an ongoing quest for identity and self-expression. Heeding his grandmother's words, “Go where you want, die where you must," Cédric started at an early age to travel alone, off the tourist tracks and the modern grid, on voyages of deep self-discovery, immersing himself in the world's most remote and magical landscapes, ecosystems, and cultures.
In 2003, he became Varial*, the visual artist. For the last 11 years he has been running his own creative and image studio in Montreal, collaborating with big-name musicians, designers, art centers and festivals.
In 2010, Varial* decided to devote himself to exploration and doing what he can to make people aware of and care about the world's fast-disappearing biocultural diversity. He has provocatively pushed the envelopes of photo-journalism and documentary film with luminous, multi-layered images from Patagonia, Ecuador, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Borneo, Algeria, India, Mexico, the French Alps, the great American Deserts and Canadian Rockies.
His approach to documentary is immersive, physical and lyrical, spiritual and psychedelic.He has put his artistic chops in the service of the planet.

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