Spoiled Landscapes

Abstract

The Industrial Revolution ushered in a new stage of human history. It brought economic prosperity and dramatic technological advances, while it pushed the Earth into a new geological epoch—the Anthropocene, in which humans are the dominant influence on nature and the environment. The series of paintings Spoiled Landscapes illustrate the impact of human activities on the environment, and they focus on petroleum, mining, and trash, all of which imply the exploitation of natural resources and pollution on a scale that is unprecedented. There are two directions in my creative research: environmental issues and landscape painting history. Landscapes witness and chronicle the vicissitudes of history. Landscape painting reveals the relationships between mankind and land, civilization and nature. The medium of my work is landscape painting and it is an attempt to call attention to the scale of abuse from our industrial civilization. Nature does not belong to humans, but humans do belong to nature.