My last post was about visiting an incredibly beautiful place, but if you follow this blog and my work you know that I can’t just take a pretty picture and move along. Lofoten is stunning, and I honestly was happy to point my camera lens at landscapes and seascapes. But the harsh realty is even in beautiful places, I still make these photographs:
The pollution is everywhere. And I wish I had an uplifting solution to share. But the more I see, experience, and research, the harder it is to navigate a way out of the mess we have created. Recently I was asked how I separate my emotions from my research, how I avoid getting depressed. The truth is I don’t. And honestly, I do get depressed. Part of the power of art is emotion, there really is no separating it for me. I create because I care about the environment and because I need to make photographs. Do I wish I was making work about something else? Sure, sometimes I do. Do I wish climate change wasn’t a reality? Yup, you bet. But climate change is real, and pollution in the environment is overwhelming. And yes, I can make beautiful images of magnificent landscapes in Lofoten (like seen in the last post), but it doesn’t feel like the whole truth to me. The whole truth means a change in perspective. Look down at the soil and sediments beneath your feet. Get low and see the synthetic materials we use interacting with nature. Take time to not only look but actually see the change in the environment around you. This new perspective can certainly be sad and depressing, but it can also be full of hope. Hope of change and of working together. Hope of innovation. And maybe even hope in nature itself.