World travelers Marie Wilkinson and Cyril Christo bring their new book to Collected Works
Since 1997, writers, photographers and filmmakers Marie Wilkinson and her husband Cyril Christo have traveled the world on a quest to better
understand the people of the world and their
connections to their environments. The result? Christo and Wilkinson’s new book, Wonder and the World: A Childhood Among the Species.
Of course, it wasn’t a simple task. During a global tour in the late ’90s, for example, Wilkinson and Christo found themselves confronting simultaneous wildfires in multiple countries.
“We started thinking about things in terms of ‘a diary of a planet on fire,’” Wilkinson explains.
That new way of seeing the world set the tone for the couple’s work reconnecting to the wilderness in its purest forms and away from a technology-driven world. Then, when Wilkinson and Christo’s son Lysander was born in the early 2000s, their adventurous lifestyle evolved. In fact, the birth of their child is the main reason Wonder and the World came to be. During a trip to Kenya when Lysander was just a year old, his innocence and newly developing perspective and curiosity shifted how the couple approached new experiences of their own.
“One of the things you find with a very young child is that they’re in awe—their wonder, their curiosity are contagious,” Wilkinson tells SFR. “By having our child out in that wilderness, the importance of awe and wonder of the human mind is so incredibly evident.”
Spanning 16 years, the book documents the family’s experiences interacting with tribes in Africa, the Inuit in Canada, searching for tigers in India and reconnecting with the wilderness, all through the lens of a child’s endless curiosity. Wilkinson believes allowing Lysander to explore the natural world has allowed him to develop a relationship with his surroundings in a way that cannot be taught in a classroom. And though the family’s world travels inevitably served as inspiration for the book, it was Lyander who shone a light on the importance of connections in the moment.
“You don’t have to go any further than your backyard or sidewalk,” Wilkinson advises. “We need to listen to the birds. We need to look at the insects. What are the stories the ants have to tell us?” (Adam Ferguson)
Cyril Christo & Marie Wilkinson:
Wonder and The World:
A Childhood Among the Species:
6 pm Thursday, Mar. 27. Free. Collected Works Bookstore & Coffeeshop, 202 Galisteo St., (505) 988-4226
Xena For Prez!
IMDB
Xena: Warrior Princess, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed and more—then you snag some coffee, peruse some books and get back to a simpler time in entertainment when performers like Lucy Lawless flipped endlessly through the air shrieking “Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!” We know it sounds like we’re joking, but those shows are considered classics for a reason. (Alex De Vore)
Femme Fatale Friday: 10 am Friday, March 28. Free Beastly Books, 418 Montezuma Ave., (505) 395-2628
Yuks ’n’ Cuts
Tira Howard
One struggles to recall a time when Santa Fe had quite as many standup comics and comedy shows as we do right now, but there’s less point in questioning it than there is in finding events that’ll make you laugh. This week, Dr. Field Goods opens its butcher shop space in the De Vargas Center for a combo comedy show/prix fixe dinner. For $80, you’ll get the comedic stylings of Evan Galpert, Trip Stelnicki, Sarah Matthes and Ibrahim Gallegos, plus a four course dinner including Caesar salad, minestrone soup, beef lasagna and sauteéd broccoli—and vanilla panna cotta for dessert. We’re not hating how Santa Fe venues have embraced a sort of dinner-and-a-show model. And besides, we could all use a laugh right now. (ADV)
Butcher Block Comedy Night: 7 pm Saturday, March 29. $80 (tickets through eventbrite.com). Butcher Block @Dr. Field Goods, 187 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 982-3033
Madrid Film Festival
Mad Movies
Find locally produced (and free) movies on tap this week alongside some of your favorite microbrews at the Mine Shaft Tavern in Madrid. “No joke, on April 1, the Madrid Film Festival will open for submissions accepting short films made in New Mexico,” says festival director Andrew Wice. “We’re kicking off the 8th annual film fest with a free showing of last year’s festival and our Big Bingo fundraiser on April 2.” In other words, you’ll get free movies and can maybe kick down a couple bucks to help make this year’s festival the biggest and best yet. Plus, you’ll get to take a scenic cruise out to the former ghost town of Madrid to check out short films you won’t see anywhere else. (Jesse A. Colvin)
Madrid Film Festival Screening:
7-10pm Tuesday, April 1. Free
Big Bingo Fundraiser: 6-10 pm Wednesday, April 2 $1 per card. Mine Shaft Tavern, 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid (505) 473-0743
