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Mongolia: Vastness, Magnificence and Simplicity

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Jade Lee-Duffy

Foreign Correspondents' Club

Ends March 20

What's it like to travel thousands of kilometres across a land without any roads, bridges or signs? Swiss-native Marc Progin knows. He rode a bicycle 7,500km across Mongolia.

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For Vastness, Magnificence and Simplicity, the 61-year old photographer/poet (and watch-maker) headed to the Altai and Kanghai mountains, across the Gobi, Altan and Mongol Els deserts, experiencing freezing winters and brilliant turquoise summer skies.

For a few months at a time, from 2002 to last year, Progin rode 100-150km a day, encountering nomads along the way. Over the years, he took some 7,000 photos - 90 of which he's selected for the exhibition.

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Many of the shots highlight the vastness of the flat plains and sweeping mountains, with Progin or wildlife appearing as tiny specks. In others, Progin takes close-ups of reindeers, nomadic eagle hunters, shepherdesses, children and elderly men with tanned, weathered skin.

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