Rye Harbour is an exposed stretch of flat land on the south coast, largely composed of shingle, salt marsh and reed beds punctuated by the occasional building. The Nature Reserve is a valuable habitat for birds and rare plants; yet it is largely man-made, a reconstruction of a natural place maintained by the efforts of the staff and volunteers.
Natural Simulacra is a re-representation of a coastal panorama. The two metre long photograph is in itself a construction from component images. Its flat surface is disrupted by the attached simulacra: 3D printed copies of objects found beach combing, such as pebbles, shells, a mermaid’s purse and a cuttlefish bone.
The work invites the viewer to participate in the current debate around the Anthropocene epoch. Are we nature? If so, why do we define it as other, and can we accept our responsibility for the management of the natural? My aim is to promote a more considered notion of place that extends beyond the conventional landscape.
GLOSSARY
Natural: Existing in or derived from nature; not made or caused by humankind
Simulacrum: Something that replaces reality with its representation
Anthropocene: Period when human activity is the dominant influence on the environment