Video: an Introduction to “Photosynthesis” 《光合作用》介紹 (video made by Michele Galeotto)

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Modern urban life drives an insidious notion that humans are apart from nature, rather than a part of nature. We live most of our lives parallel to the natural world; our interactions with it are limited and inorganic. "It is a sad thing to think that nature speaks and the human species does not listen" said Victor Hugo. This perceptual divide is what drove Ben Felten to explore a visual blend of human bodies and natural textures through the medium of analog double exposures. That there is beauty in human bodies and beauty in nature are nothing new. That a blend of the two expresses the beauty of both is maybe more unusual. As the project progressed, Felten realised that cyanotype was the obvious output expression for this work: it's the earliest photographic printing method, one used initially to capture natural textures through the works of Anna Atkins from 1843 onwards. It is also a technique that is revealed by sunlight, just like photosynthesis reveals plant life on earth. It's all one with nature, as are we.

《光合作用》

現代城市生活衍生出一種暗藏的觀念：人類是獨立個體，而非自然界的一部分。我們大部分生活與自然世界平行；我們與它的互動既有限且無機。維克多·雨果（Victor Hugo）說過：「當聯想到大自然在說話時而人類卻充耳不聞是何等悲傷。」這種感知上的鴻溝驅使 Ben Felten 通過雙重曝光來探索人體與大自然紋理的視覺融合。人體的美、自然的美，或許並不是甚麼新鮮事，但當兩者融合再衍生出新美學，這一切就變得非比尋常。隨著系列的發展，Felten 意識到藍曬法(Cyanotype)是這項創作的最佳表達方式：這種最古老的照片顯影術，於1843年由植物學家 Anna Atkins 發明，運用光學與化學品結合的反應展現出大自然的紋理。這種通過陽光展示的顯影術，有如光合作用孕育著地球上的植物生命一樣，訴說著人類與大自然的共生關係。