For four decades James Balog studied ancient cultural hypotheses about the relationship between human nature and the rest of nature. Through innovative images, her projects interpret significant aspects of what has changed, what has survived and what changes are foreseen for the future. His photographs and films reveal the dazzling beauty of nature and its capacity for destruction. Instead, as a scientist and artist, he documents humanity's actions that disrupt traditional patterns and properties of nature to the detriment of both humans and nature. Each of his projects connects to previous and subsequent research to create an increasingly comprehensive view of the human versus nature interface.
Anthropocene photography depicts both the ancient cyclical patterns of earth's life forms and the impact of human activities by intent or unintentional on such shapes and cycles. For example, clearing forests for habitation and commerce endangers plant and animal species and can change weather patterns which can lead to prolonged droughts that can trigger hotter and more frequent fires in remaining forests. Balog's passion for understanding these patterns drives him. His talent is to photograph and film them in ways that not only seduce viewers with the rich variety and splendor of nature, but also raise questions about what is happening and why.
A selection of around 150 works, photographs, videos and films will be shown. The exhibitions will be coordinated as far as possible with the screening of his new film, as well as his award-winning film, "Chasing Ice".
The exhibition is divided into four sections: Survivors, Transformation, Combustion and Extraction, which reflect his projects over four decades. Singular images related to, but independent of those sections are also included.
JAMES BALOG: PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE ANTHROPOCENE FROM 1980 TO 2020
National Academy of Sciences, Washington, USA 1 August 2020 – 1 February 2021
Cover image: Experimental burn, Northwest Territories, Canada, June 2015 © James Balog
From source: Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography
