Symbiosis

            I have always had a connection with nature, usually choosing to take my work outdoors instead of photographing in an interior space. I am inspired by the natural world and seek to understand it. We as humans have an innate curiosity towards everything in the world. It seems we need to know the limits of things in order to conquer and control these objects. We have to identify, categorize, understand the meaning of, find the limits, discover, and in the end control what is initially found.  But there are some problems with this sort of sensibility. From this came my concept: What exactly is the human connection to the natural world?

            I don’t think there is one answer to this question. I believe my work needs to incorporate both the positive and negative aspects of our involvement or connection with nature. I began by focusing on more of the human’s recognition of nature, the hold nature puts upon humans and the intrigue human’s have about nature. Examples of this can be seen in my images where nature engulfs an individual. This is done with natural elements such as vines or in instances where plants spontaneously grow out of a person’s body. I also show a human’s appreciation of nature by creating what appear to be almost ritualistic constructions out of natural elements. These shapes seem to close in on the individual, almost as though these people created these symbolic shapes to better understand the world around them. Lastly, I consider the darker side of the human connection to nature, the destruction and the conquering of nature. I also represented nature’s side of the story, which is of course nature’s eventual comeback and control over human kind.

            To put it simply, I am really trying to communicate the process of our connection to the natural world. Which starts as pure fascination with every aspect of nature. From this comes the understanding of how we can benefit from nature, which innocently enough leads us to the conquering and controlling of the natural world. Bringing us to the eventual destruction and come back of nature.

            Considering the topic of my work is a heavily discussed subject in contemporary culture, I have received much influence from the work of many other artists, who in a similar fashion attempt to show a human’s fascination with the environment. Andy Goldsworthy uses natural elements to create sculptures that incorporate the landscape. Also the artists Robert and Shana Parkeharrison utilize a single figure to symbolize the human’s effect on the environment. These artists use their work as a way to bring light to the nature world. I am very intrigued by their work, and draw a significant amount of conceptual inspiration from it. For the desaturated, almost aged appearance of my work’s color palette, I transferred my photographs onto fine art paper. This allows the appearance of being weathered, or in a sense more natural. I have also chosen to use the panoramic format because this allows me to capture the landscape as a whole rather then in pieces.

             I hope these images stir some sort of emotion in the viewer whether it is positive or negative. In the end I want the viewer to see that there is significance to nature, that it is not just a beautiful backdrop and that we are all connected to the natural world is some way or another.

Lacey Peacock