Photographer Jason Gardner travelled across 15 countries to document traditional Carnival in its myriad of manifestations. Seeking out villages and towns where festivals are at their most folkloric or least visited by outsiders, Gardner collaborated with ethnographers and local experts to engage with and understand each festival. A selection of his vast archive of photographs made over a period of 15 years. Collectively, his images dispel stereotypes of Carnival and illustrate the complex diversity of local customs united by universal themes. 'In the middle of the night, or at the break of dawn, these youngsters turn into spirits, wearing the spirits' clothes and handling their paraphernalia. This gives them authority and power since the spirits are eternal; they never change, defying the passage of time and, at least in principle, even death itself.'