YEAR : 2006
MEASURES : w 41,25 cm x h 55 cm / w 55 cm x h 41,25 cm
PRINT : Ultra chrome ink on semiglossy paper
MOUNTING : White cabinet with front glass
EDITION : 3 editions, 1 artist proof
DOWNLOAD : Terrain_II.pdf / size 1,5 MB
In the series Terrain we are witnesses to a documentation of nature sceneries fixed and mounted in cabinets. The photographs are shot at different museums of natural history and the cabinets directly refers back to the museums large-scale dioramic sceneries. These fascinating tableaux simulates specific nature sites or spots from around the globe to represent the natural habitat of a group of species.
But what become more interesting in our point-of-view – when looking through the cameras eye – is the construction of these nature sceneries. Every single diorama is constructed from two layers: 1. foreground and 2. background. The foreground is a 3-dimensional scenography which simulates a site specific environment. Plants, trees, leaves, stones, rocks, water, snow etc. are thoroughly arranged to create a complete fragment of a given nature. The background forms a 2-dimensional painted surface which in a picturesque naturalistic manner simulates the continuation of the scenery of the foreground into a vanishing point on the painted background. Further more the background is a simulation it self of a given nature.
The camera does not contain the ability to clearly differentiate between a foreground and a background or a 2-dimensional surface from a 3-dimensional space. Instead and even better the camera contains the quality to reflect the motif with complete indifferent objectivity. This causes a single vista represented on the 2-dimensional surface of the photographic paper. The fusion produces hereby a new third simulation of the scenery which in the perception of the spectator represent the image of of a real 3-dimensional nature scenery. The origin of the scenarios do not exist anymore because of this triple framing/simulation. A new hyper realistic world is established.
