JOE RUDKO
«Not Nature is a study into the displacement of the landscape through human presence and intervention. In this ongoing series I use photography as an anthropological tool to observe everyday visual juxtapositions that reveal a human relationship with the natural world. The project was developed over a summer spent in Anacortes, Washington at the Shannon Point Marine Center. I was living in at the center with 11 scientists completing various experiments and research. The surrounding area of Anacortes is filled with hiking areas, parks, and a ferry which gives access to several of the San Juan Islands. I found that many of the local neighborhoods were ideal places to observe the relationship between the residents and their environment. Lawn ornamentation and murals began looking like tributes or memorials to the surrounding land and wildlife which is slowly being displaced by new homes and developments. I focused my photographs on natural environments with evidence of human presence, and alternatively, human environments with a resemblance to natural forms. By centrally framing my shots, I am singling out these small moments of interaction. These images reflect a continued interest in the sociological understanding of landscape and representation».
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