Untitled // Fake Foliage // Domed
Project Statement
A Natural History (Built to be Seen) catalogs the various ways the western natural world is presented and reconstructed within museums. Documenting the life cycle of natural exhibitions, from inception to storage, both literally and metaphorically depicts how institutions shape nature. Dramatic dioramas, interactive virtual experiences, and miniaturized landscapes all act as windows into the natural world. While this framing acts as a guide for reading and understanding nature, the same frame can be analyzed to understand the complex and ever-changing relationship between people and land.
Museums teach us about our environment, but often separate us from it. In an age of global climate crisis, it’s imperative to re-evaluate our understanding of and relationship with nature. By creating images that subvert the viewer's ideas of what is natural or not, I’m asking the viewer to recognize how influential museum nature is on their understanding of the larger natural world.
Special Thanks to the following Insitutions for making this project possible:
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nebraska and Morill Hall / Chicago Field Museum / University of Kansas Natural History Museum / Plainsmen Museum / Hastings Museum / Houston Museum of Natural Science
