Publisher’s description
“…full of delicate hope!” – Charlotte Cotton
In Another Way of Looking at Love, the landscape is explored as a metaphor to consider the personal, societal, and environmental consequences of disconnection, and simultaneously, our yearning to be connected. From 2015-2018, Janelle Lynch (born 1969) has used an 8 x 10 camera to create still lives in the landscape that combine similar and disparate visual and biological elements. This process begins by identifying details in nature that, based on a unique vantage point, created geometric formations of closure. The connective point, or nucleus, that is created by the union becomes the artist’s plane of focus. The nebulous area within the forms represents space for new realities or possibilities to be imagined. The work is informed by Lynch’s recent immersion in drawing and painting from perception, primarily by charcoal mark-making—a new aspect of her practice that has allowed for a deeper inquiry into the nature of seeing, such as: formal abstraction, color relativity, and the notion of relationality.
The series’ title is from a quote by the philosopher Alain de Botton, who supports Dr. Amy Banks’ neuroscientific research and relational-cultural theory. Dr. Banks’ theory posits that humans are biologically hardwired to connect and that our wellness—and the well-being of our culture and planet—depends on our connections with others and with nature. This three-year project serves as a catalyst for viewers to return to reflections of a natural ideal, to explore the basic human need for connection to nature and, simultaneously, the interconnectedness of all life forms. It also aims to facilitate the consideration of the impact of our current politics on the natural world, and thus on ourselves.