THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS NATURE

The work "There is no such thing as nature" reflects on anthropocentric perceptions and fictions of nature in Western culture. Although we live in times where humans have altered Earth to a very large extent, we still tend to romanticize wilderness and environments which are untouched by the human hand. Nature, to be true, must be raw and unspoiled. And vice versa: a place where human beings are is a place where nature is not. I explored these illusions and longings while immersing myself in natural reserve areas in Southern Germany’s Hegau region - together with crowds of people who came to admire "real nature“. What is nature? What is real and what is made? Where and how do we believe to access nature?

The installation is part of my ongoing research on the use of photography to create three-dimensional spaces which can be experienced by the walking viewer. I collected visual materials in the natural reserve areas and printed the images on textile fabrics to create an artificial and diffusely layered landscape. The work uses photographic images but eludes itself from the familiar readability of nature photography. The fragmented and vague aesthetic of the installation creates a reference to the natural world which is not easily tangible.

2019 - 2022. digital print on chiffon, digital print on satin. dimensions variable.