MensVogue magazine November/December 2006

30th Oct 2006

The British art duo Olly and Suzi touched down in Alaska's remote, grizzly-infested Katmai National Park and Preserve. Their mission: To capture wild bears with paint, canvas, and a killer instinct.





Olly and Suzi navigate Kukak Bay in an open skiff, en route to Katmai's shores. (photo co/mensvogue by Julien Dufort)

No roads, paved or otherwise, lead to Katmai National Park and Preserve, which lies at the northeast extreme of the Alaska Peninsula. To get to Katmai's 480-mile coast, you don't need a dogsled anymore. At the very least, though, you'll have to find your way to Anchorage, where you can book a short flight to Kodiak or Homer, from either of which, at considerable expense, you will then have to charter a floatplane. Weather permitting, the pilot will fly into the Shelikof Strait and land in one of several pristine, sheltered bays bordered by black sand beaches, green hills, and ragged blue-black mountains. If you can afford to hire one, a boat will be there waiting for you. If not, you'll be on your own—just you, the bald eagles, the wolves, and approximately 2,000 Alaskan brown bears.
Brown bears are grizzly bears. They're generally called brown when they live on the coast, grizzly if they live inland, but they're otherwise indistinguishable: giant, cuddly-looking apex predators with intimidating incisors, long, curved claws, fur ranging from frosty blond to deep brown, and enough muscle mass to tear your head from your shoulders with a single swipe. In other words, they are the perfect subjects for Olly and Suzi (known to the British government as Oliver Williams and Susan Winstanley), the London-based art duo who have made a name for themselves by traveling to far-flung corners of the planet to paint and draw lions, tigers, polar bears, African wild dogs, great white sharks, orcas, anacondas, crocodiles, and predatory Antarctic leopard seals, among other creatures.
"The bush is our studio," as Olly likes to say.

Watch a video of Olly and Suzi's Katmai work on www.mensvogue.com or read Ben Ehrenreich's article in the November/December 2006 issue of Men's Vogue on sale now.