In Seldon Hunt's photographs the deserted forest resembles a manufactured diorama of the natural world, suggesting events and characters that have been removed or are hidden. These compositions are thoughtful reflections on the classical tradition of landscape painting, which on one hand visually re-organized nature to appear less threatening and on the other imbued it with moral symbolism. The lack of visible evidence for human encounters leaves the viewer unsettled, as though he has missed a crucial part of a story and is confronted only with its backdrop. By removing all traces of human life Hunt plays with our expectations of landscape in relation to people and examines where the line between the real and the recreated is blurred.
Seldon Hunt was born in Australia in 1969 and now lives in New York City. To see more of his work on his Your Gallery profile page click here.
Angela Roberts
Angela Roberts is a writer currently completing research toward a PhD at Queen's University, Ontario. She is art editor of Vancouver-based art-and-design magazine Butter and has written for ArtReview.
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