| Peter
HappelChristian |
| In
much of my work I liken my creative habits to that
of an early cartographer - looking, measuring, collecting,
calculating and displaying the intersections of quotidian
life and the natural world. As much as I am inspired
by phenomena of the natural world and find great value
in being outside, I focus on the observation that
our everyday relationship with nature is predominantly
one of mediation, physical distance and cognizant
remove. I am interested in measuring the spaces between
daily life, the idea of nature and the natural world
itself and in my work I make efforts to highlight,
collapse, document and fictionalize the spaces between
everyday life and the natural world.
I often reference events of the natural world and
the imagery of geographic maps while looking to the
mechanics of map-making as a way to gather, organize
and present different aspects of my projects.
I find a strong relationship between maps and photographs
in that both are relatively accurate, yet entirely
subjective. Both are analogs of the world; dressed
up to look official, but are secretly stitched together.
It only requires a small shift in perception or a
turn of the wrist so that north points south and a
map becomes a beautiful abstract drawing full of lines,
shapes and colors. A loss of orientation renders
the visible world as abstract.
In my work I make a habit of literally setting my
camera aside and reaching into the world to physically
interact with my subject matter. It is at that point
beyond the mediation of the camera, when I place my
body between the image and its referent that the photograph
is porous and reveals its subjectivity. By working
within that symbolic space I am able to better investigate
a unique quality of the photographic image; that it
can present fiction while representing truth.
It is this synchronized mutation drifting between
a descriptive reality and a constructed reality that
resonates within my work.
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