the human nature
We live in an era in which mankind is the most influential species on earth. More and more we have to share the planet with our fellow human beings. If there is any real wild nature, it is often not in the way we would like to see it. In our hearts and dreams the landscape is unspoilt and unoccupied.
Fortunately, in his need for nature, mankind can provide by creating it, we design the the wild natural landscape according to our dreams and wishes. Everything is laid out and defined and we decide how and where wilderness can have its place. Thus the nature landscape is romantically organized - decorated if you like. This is the human nature.
About
For the project "the human nature" I photographed on various locations in The Netherlands and in Belgium where land is given back to nature. Especially in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen where there is a lot of quarrelling and disagreement about the Hertogin-Hedwigepolder and the Prosperpolder. Here the new wilderness is created. A man-made landscape, a comfortable, safe place where nature can be consumed, where we can enjoy open spaces while walking or cycling on a smooth asphalt road. But to what extent is nature really controllable? We can see mankind everywhere, but we do not want to see it sharply. This is the human nature.
Capturing the landscape is a permanent factor in my work as a photographer and artist, the landscape and I keep evolving. I use a large format camera on a tripod and do the development and printing myself. I started working with the large format view camera years ago, because I wanted to reveal the, in my opinion, disordered and sprawled situations in the landscape. I made neutral images with razor-sharp details; everything had to be clearly visible. This slow, analogue method has become my second nature that enables me to look better and longer. Now that I have learned to see things clearly myself, I have moved away from the sharp approach. With an antique lens I found the best way to capture our man-made, idealized natural landscape. The optical characteristics and phenomena are not merely aesthetic, they also provide the images with a mystical quality that corresponds to our romantic design of the landscape. The best visual description of our natural landscape is a romantic description.
quinten buijsse photographer 2018
