Exploring Nature and Human Interaction - Image series by Jonathan Brennan
We are delighted to showcase this selection from the ongoing series Exploring Nature and Human Interaction by artist Jonathan Brennan. This is part of the “Library Interventions” project. This project brings visual art and the ideas behind it to the library, with a list of books that aim to expand our thinking about the artwork.
About the Artwork
Jonathan shared these thoughts about his work with us:
“These images are from an ongoing series of works examining nature and human interactions, including our desire to control and to quantify nature.
In my practice, I engage in a process of gathering, scavenging, and collecting. This involves diving into archives, conducting interviews, and going on field trips. I record video, write, photograph, and draw. I collect discarded objects and plants, which I reproduce through various fine art printmaking processes.
Coming from an interest in the idea of “place”, I seek to navigate and experience places that are abandoned, neglected, and overlooked rather than exploring typical sites. Through my work, I invite you to reflect on the outcomes of our actions and interventions in the natural world. I hope this will bring a deeper consideration of our relationship with the environment. “
Book List
As part of this project, the artist has made a recommended reading list to accompany this work. These books are available for borrowing at the library:
- Atlas of remote islands: fifty islands I have not visited and never will by Judith Schalansky
- Edgelands: journeys into England's true wilderness by Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts
- Underland: a deep time journey, by Robert Macfarlane
- Karl Blossfeldt: the complete published work by Hans Christian Adam
- Modern Nature - Derek Jarman
- Mudlarking: Lost and Found on the River Thames - Lara Maiklem
About the Artist
Jonathan Brennan is a multi-disciplinary artist working in printmaking, painting, video, photography, installation, audio, and text. His work is about place: architectural and urban places as well as what is traditionally referred to as landscape. He explores how we interact with them and how they interact with each other.
Jonathan is drawn to the less obvious, the neglected and the abandoned. His work is not clearly political, but seeks to encourage us into looking at the everyday with new eyes and to consider the forces that manipulate how we think and act. Jonathan exhibits regularly in group shows; his last solo show was in 2022. His work is in public and private collections. Jonathan is a member of the Belfast Print Workshop and Vault Artist Studios.
Gallery
