Unreal Landscapes, Thursday 27 October 2022, DEMO.

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The human psychological response to viewing a landscape is coded with preconceived notions of what a landscape is. To view scenes is to view them with subliminal parameters in mind, influenced by layers of cultural and historical context. Notions of the picturesque and the sublime, and the representation of nature through mediums such as painting and photography, have influenced the perception of land and assigned cultural value onto these spaces.
 

The understanding of landscape is inherently constructed. The viewing of land as landscape has roots in the artistic representation of the natural world. Perceiving a framed selection of a view is influenced by conventions that have evolved in art history over centuries.
 

I am expanding on the concept of representation within a landscape image, especially with an Aotearoa context. I am questioning the inherent constructed nature of a landscape image, especially in New Zealand’s marketing as a ‘scenic paradise’ by exploring how that can be expanded upon and disrupted.

 

By interrupting the recognisable tropes of the ‘picturesque’ and the ‘sublime’, I seek to challenge the viewing of a traditional landscape image, and question inherent biases around what is considered a ‘scenic’ image.

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One night only exhibition at DEMO.