and how perhaps we could re-visit our routes with nature through technological advancement.

The word Biophilia describes an innate and genetically pre-determined affinity humans have with our natural world.I have always been interested in our connections with nature and I have been especially interested in our relationship with nature in a time of climate crisis,I felt that it was important now more than ever to appreciate our natural world and recognise ourselves as a part of it.

 

As a starting point in my research, I wanted to look at  the different ways in which we forge our connection with nature,I decided to split these into 3 key categories, firstly through a Political/cultural standpoint, an aesthetic standpoint and lastly a technological one.

 

In my research I wanted to understand more deeply our cultural ties with nature as humans and societies. I was interested in the role of tradition nature had played in different cultures. For example, the symbol of the fig tree in Kenyan tradition, they are believed to house the spirits of ancestors and are often used for religious ceremony, but when one of the oldest and largest fig trees in Kenya came to be threatened by the build of an express way the tree became a symbol of political defiance, with young people across Nairobi protesting its removal.The same sense of heritage and culture can be applied to the totem pole, in indigenous community.The totem pole represents ‘family crests or family/groups history and were often carved from old tree trucks and red cedar.The overlap of nature and identity was something I was interested in reflecting in my practice as I am from a black forest town in Germany where nature plays a huge role in peoples’ familial and personal identity.In some works sometimes using my own body in collages amongst natural forms.

 

Next, I explored the aesthetic ties between the human form and nature, I found that even the superficial imitations of nature in our own bodies commented on a deeper connection with nature, Biophilia.The physical similarities between the natural world and the body led me to my research in prosthetics, whilst looking at Victorian prosthetics and artificial limbs I observed the very literal application of natural forms to the body, limbs made of wood, a body, very much ‘at one with nature’. From this,I learnt about the progression of prosthetics into more durable and artificial materials like acrylic resin, silicone, and aluminium. I thought that this transformation spoke to a wider shift and our gradual detachment from natural materials in favour of artificial and mass-produced ones.

My research soon turned to biophilia from a technological point of view, through my interest in prosthetics I was drawn to the idea of transhumanism– “the belief or theory that the human race can evolve beyond its current physical and mental limitations, especially by means of science and technology.”I wanted to explore how technology can interrupt our  connection with nature, but also change our perception of the body, not as a natural form but a kind of machine, compiled of functions and ‘parts’. I think that nature and technology are often viewed as disparate entities,but I became fascinated by the function of biomimicry , technology enhancing nature.One example that surprised me was Mont Garson’s ‘Plantasia’ album Which used a machine to measure the frequencies released from plants and translated it into sound,another person’s work that inspired me was Tim Knowle’s tree drawings , both of these works seemed to reflect a new kind of consciousness surrounding our connection with nature, using technology to somehow amplify the existence of it.In a recent group exhibition I reflected on the future of humans and the natural world and the role technology will play in either driving us closer or further apart from it,In future works I would like to theorise about what biophilia will look like in the future, by using ‘artificial’ materials and machine like processes to appreciate nature or attempt to relate to it through technology.

 

whilst looking for visual references of the body in nature I watched the short film ‘the swimmer’-a black and white film that followed a swimmer’s journey for miles through a river, and finally to a fair ground .In many shots the swimmer disappears into the landscape entirely into the black waters. I found that video was an effective medium in creating a sense of uncanny- the hybrid ‘biophilic’ form, this led me to other video pieces with a similar sense of uncanny- Loie Fuller’s dancing video for example. ‘The swimmer’ and its mono colour scheme proved very influential in my practice,after watching it I became interested in how the black and white colour scheme could be used to cloud both the body and nature- merging them to a kind of abstract ‘whole’, rather than two separate elements brought together, I enjoyed the sense of ambiguity of the form also,I attempted to create images that were hard to decipher and that required patience to visually unpack, as I feel that patience is required to reconnect with nature in contrast to the fast moving pace of modern life. I also found that this colour scheme communicated a sense of loss, much like old black and white footage shows the past and acts as a time portal to something you have never experienced. I wanted to communicate the vast loss brought about by climate change, nature and natural abundance being ‘something of the past’,during this age of extinction.

 

 After studying visual comparisons of nature and the body I was interested in comparisons within literature and poetry, two poets I looked at were Pablo Neruda and walt Whitman. Whitman’s poems seemed to carry a more scientific fascination of biophilia, the obsession with atoms and the shared fabric of humans and plant life.Pablo Neruda Neruda’s ‘two plants’ poem however saw a more human,romantic,connection with nature, personifying, like Goldsworthy, the natural world.

So far in specialising in fine art I have continued to study Biophilia, the mediums I use have ranged quite broadly,this year I have experimented with lino printing,sculpture and video works, the theme of nature and the body have remained strong themes throughout my work.Often my art is black and white and tends to follow a kind of abstract pattern, whereby I entangle natural forms with human anatomy, my attempt is to create a hybrid form from the two, not only have I enjoyed the sense of ambiguity,in this mono colour scheme. 

I have experimented with using nature itself,in some works I attempt to contrast the ‘permanent’perception we have of sculpture by using perishable-natural-materials like plums and branches that will eventually rot and decay.In a group show I looked into the future trajectory of our natural world,I decided to use plastic-waste material to represent our disconnection with it,but also use harsh materials like bleach,that would prove very dangerous to wildlife,much like the use of pesticides or ‘weed killer’.A large part of my practice is digital collage-I am interested in how technology interacts with nature, but also I found editing and repeating an image was an easy way to abstract it.