When nature and technology collide in the name of art, you can color us interested. Ohio artist Barry Underwood does a masterful job of juxtaposing the two. Taking inspiration from film, theatre, land art, and painting, Underwood creates LED light installations in natural settings, then takes long exposure photos of the scenes. The results are dramatic, to say the least.
The works provide some poignant commentary about human impact on the planet, specifically in the form of light pollution. But the ecological statement is subtle, as Underwood explains:
My attempt is not to portray environmental issues in a heavy-handed way. I think about science fiction and how the fantastic or supernatural is supported or given credibility by a ubiquitous everyday world. Within the storytelling there is a moral to the tale. There is a looking inward process or a self-evaluation (on cause and effect) and the consequences of one’s actions.
Scenes, a show of Barry Underwood photos, is on view at New York’s Sous Les Etoiles Gallery until August 2nd.
Photos © Barry Underwood