Synthetic Nature II starts with my preoccupation with everyday consumption and how the natural and artificial worlds can collide. I focus on the mundane waste of my family’s consumption, mainly plastic packaging, whose sole purpose is to protect an item until it comes into our home. I question what the shapes now symbolize and their existence beyond meager utilization. But I also take a closer look at the beauty in their distinctive form once their intended purpose of protection is complete. Placing these items in relationship with organically mutable materials, I experiment with how these plastic materials can evolve and have new relationships with nature.
My previous exploration was about creating landscapes that, when printed large, would feel intentionally overwhelming. But, I wanted to create a less defined state for this series. Consciously, I focus on repetition and the overlapping variations of each item suspended in time. The results become defined as artifacts but also ambiguous structures that mimic spectacles of nature.
I use photography to create opposing illusions that are simultaneously optimistic and hostile, beautiful but repulsive. Brightly saturated colors in the photographs allure but also alert of each object’s toxic nature. I use this process to speculate on what the future might bring, and what potential traces will be left behind.
