Lost Archives
Lost Archives is the collection of a fictional museum display, an alternate system for categorizing and exploring the natural world. The work in this show utilizes a variety of collage approaches as a way of creating order from seemingly random elements. Clips from various nature videos are layered together in a similar fashion to the shelves of collaged cards created from found and generated components. Landscapes are altered in an attempt to cull patterns from the shapes within. Natural elements are magnified, mirrored, multiplied and put on display.
Lost Archives began its formation after a visit to the Natural History Museum in New York City earlier this year. The endless halls of carefully crafted displays showcasing the mysteries of the universe peaked my interest into the connection between geometry and nature. The push and pull of order vs. chaos is apparent in the constant human struggle to control nature and it’s inevitable destructive forces. The museum displays elements of this planet in a perfection that is antithetical to its subject matter. Taxonomy’s, charts, graphs, labels and other systems are put upon these wild elements in a manner which fringes on absurdity. It is both proof of the incredible achievements of the human mind and a humbling reminder that nature will never be tamed.