By Bridget Hagerty
SCAD MFA photography candidate, Kristen Densmore’s thesis exhibit is on display at the Oglethorpe Gallery. Densmore hopes her photographs spark conversation and bring light upon the human to non-human relationship.
Through her thesis, Densmore explores the interaction between humans and the natural world.
“Zoos and aquariums are metaphoric for the human relationship to the non-human world,” said Densmore as she explained that our containment of animals reflects our relationship with them and our “desire to contain, control and study the animals.”
Densmore uses her installation to convey her opinion of human and nature’s interaction by recreating the enclosures of zoos and aquariums, and the illusion of division it creates between humans and the natural world.
A good portion of Densmore’s inspiration for her thesis came from her love of nature and the exploration of her own relationship with it. She hopes people will enjoy her work even if they disagree with her opinion.
Densmore states that it is her wish that her installation will spark conversation about the issue, but with “a gentle tone,” so that one forms a personal opinion on the topic.
Using a unique inkjet technique, her photographs are printed on actual leaves that she collected. The “photo-liage” lays encased in insect collection boxes constructed by hand from salvaged, antique wood to recall the Victorian era—a time when the modern zoo set-up and photography began. To further emphasize this time, Densmore also uses a “Victorian lens,” while shooting and will display silhouetted animals and humans to incorporate the style.
Her photographs will be on display until Jan. 24.
