ARTIST STATEMENT: “A CONSTRUCTED LANDSCAPE”


“A Constructed Landscape” is a body of photographs questioning the sustainability and longevity of industry as it pertains to local communities and ecological environments. The industrial structures in these photographs were built, essentially, to advance humanity through the production of inexpensive goods. Conversely they were built to fall into ruin and thus, fail the sustainable role outlined in the modernist utopist vision.

These photographs borrow from the documentary tradition, yet are constructed from multiple images and vantage points. I utilize this production method as a means to emphasize and exaggerate direct relationships industry has with its surrounding environment. This visual technique erases the invisible boundaries perceived by our society that separate industrial affects and hazards from the non-industrial elements. These conflicting relationships are articulated through the constructed and juxtaposed arrangements of the visual components as well as the equally ambiguous and Arcadian view. I employ digital production within photography to create more plausible scenes, therefore increasing the viewer’s engagement with these disconcerting landscapes.