Collection: but you can’t breathe their exhales through a screen

 A Solo Exhibition by Kathryn Greenwood
February 25 to 27th, 2022
1508 Haultain St.

but you can’t breathe their exhales through a screen is a response to the observed increase in digital alternatives to the physical experience of being in nature. At a time when technology is continually and aggressively outgrowing its previous capabilities, there is little time to reflect on what may be left behind.

How often do we participate entirely within the physical realm, without the presence of a screen or device as an extension of our consciousness? This tendency to navigate life through a series of digital platforms is becoming so ingrained that it is not difficult to imagine a future where the physical environment no longer holds meaningful value.  

The series but you can’t breathe their exhales through a screen was informed by recent research indicating that exposure to a virtual nature scene can elicit similar physiological and mental responses as the physical experience of being in nature. This research prompts the question of whether; due to its accessibility, appeal, and relative benefits, virtual reality could become the dominant way of experiencing ‘natural’ environments.

Whether this virtual alternative to getting outdoors becomes dominant or not, we are constantly encountering elements from nature within our daily participation in the digital sphere. Plant imagery pervades the internet, often as a type of greenwashing, or perhaps as a reflection of the inherent visual appeal of nature. Marketing, graphic design, digital art and culture, film, video games, and social media all offer opportunities to visually engage with elements of nature.

The paintings in but you can’t breathe their exhales through a screen are a testimony to the newly emerging dual nature of nature itself. The imagery in the paintings can be recognized as plant life on an intimate scale, but is depicted in undeniably digital palates of inverted colour, with qualities evocative of glitch art. Aesthetically, the works intend to blur the line between the digital and physical environment, to question the place and context of nature within our current lived experiences.