I am interested in understanding human beings’ interest towards the beautiful and the sublime, which emanates from an intrinsic capacity human beings possess to allow the aesthetic experience to be. This innate capacity, along with human beings’ persistent inclination towards the beautiful and the sublime, formed the foundation of my interest of inquiry. The reasons for my subject matter are as follow: a) landscapes’ capacity as a universal interest of aesthetic experiences, both in representations as works of art as well as in reality, and b) the variables that landscapes consist of, which encompass the properties of both the beautiful and the sublime in one entity.
These land structures are constructed from ground spices, dried herbs, flour, ice, a fog machine, and a variety of lighting. The process of fabrication provides me with the liberty of fabricating wide possibilities of physical features, permutating the characteristics of both beauty and sublimity in natural landscapes. Such significance approaches the subjective experiences of the viewer, with the intention of determining if beauty and sublimity are independent species of aesthetic experiences, or do they belong to a singular, interdependent experience where one proceeds from the other, and which share the foundation of a common capacity.
The constructing and photographing process of each image in this project take place over a period of three to seven days, with important considerations placed in the lighting and composition of each landscape structure, and in aim of uniting the vocabulary of materials into the spatial singularity of the photographic image: the landscapes provide a theatrical space where the colours manifest, and engage in dialectics amongst each other. The colours, light, and composed landscapes consequently assemble themselves as a spatial entity in the embodiment of the fog. The fabrications invite the viewers to embark on a journey of the imaginative, and consequently participate in the position of an admiring, contemplative being.