Raw Forests: Experimentation in Photography & Assemblage
Raw Forests photographic assemblage series by Michael Hanna.
I was considering publishing these forest-based photographic assemblages in the various publication opportunities available. However, since none of these periodicals I found online with open calls specialize in experimental art, I felt they would not be treated with as much recognition or care as they would if I just directly publish them in Point Pleasant Journal with Point Pleasant Publishing. I also feel the audience of Point Pleasant Publishing is more attuned towards experimental practices versus the viewers of other publications.
This specific series of photographic assemblages dealing with Raw Forests is different than most of my other assemblage-based works which often focus on aquatic-based themes in most instances. What I found with these forests is a sense of ancient secrets, wisdom, and perhaps even spirits (if they even do exist). When the whole world seems to have collectively lost their minds, only nature seems to be sane. The notion of nature having cleansing or healing properties is not new, but how these forests are presented in my photographic assemblages conveys old ideas with fresh new eyes.
First of all, for those who do not already know, all of my photography contains no post-production editing. In the photographic assemblages, the unedited photographs are assembled together with texts added, but the photographs themselves are unaltered. This especially becomes most poignant in the Raw Forests series in how a raw and unfiltered interpretation of nature becomes applied. Second, fluxus creative writing becomes applied. The texts are stream-of-consciousness creative writing typing down the first phrases which come to mind. As a result, the writing is a real-time interpretation of my own creative process. However, the art is not random-based. When I photograph, I am behaving like a detective and searching for clues, or rather fragments, to piece together in order to formulate a pre-conceived concept based on emotional impulses and experiences. The creative writing is the climax of the entire process.
With Raw Forests photographic assemblages, I am hoping the viewer will find not only meditative qualities within the work, but also have them question their understanding of the ‘outside world’. This ‘outsider world’ encompasses all which marks public facing and policy. In contrast, the natural world obeys a set of rules within. These forests will speak to you in the ways of how they are captured and assembled. From omniscient sunlight penetrating the canopy of trees and earth to horse-shoe-like compositions which seem to turn selective raw nature into a presentation, despite being untouched by humanity.
Nature is usually depicted in a straightforward manner. However, by presenting nature as a configuration which can be studied and ‘assembled’ to find purpose and meaning, my hope is for the viewer to find deeper ruminations and meditative discoveries than they normally would with more traditionally-recognized presentations of nature.
