uums of space and time, and of increasing
mobility and acceleration.
4
“Urban wilderness” (suburbs, gated com-

issue
munities) is such a non-space. It becomes a
place of uncertainty, where homeland and
Fluxion
identity are situated in techno-scapes in

which traditional, indigenous and exile are
ART
not fixed categories.
There are a number of other artists who
are making landscape images that force us
to examine the impact of civilization and
over-population on the land, such as Edward
Burtynsky, Robert Adams, Robert Polidori,
Emmet Gowin, Richard Misrach and David
Maisel, to name a few. How would you
describe this new approach to landscape that
has become so popular?
Well, I think mature people are not only
interested in just the beauty of landscape and
their representation. Maybe it is their interest
to open someone´s eyes?! I adore Robert
Adams' work.
Your work often highlights near monochro-
matic color palates and highly diffused light.
What is it about these conditions that influ-
ence you?
Although I am a documentary photographer
I do not want to state facts. That happens
with color photography. The color makes
things more obvious and real. I think a
diffused light makes things more preverbal.
So, I guess the less real color there is, the
more preverbal and imagination.
Much of your work is based in the U.S.
Do feel like the same kinds of issues, in
regards to land use and landscape, apply
in other parts of the world, or are you
exploring something you would say is
uniquely American?
You are right, my work is based in the U.S.
And that's one fact about documentary
photography—it always documents some-
thing. The main reason why I moved to
Los Angeles was the landscape, the urban
spread, the vastness, the non-space, the non-
ness. I had an assignment in L.A. and I was
blown away by the landscape. By travelling
from one place to the next I felt homeless
and uprooted, and L.A. was the place where
I thought I could vizualize this feeling. My
work is not a documentation of the city Los
Angeles, it is more a reflection of our current
age, as French urban theorist Henri Lefebvre
states the “city“ is a dialectic, an occasion
for reflection of the fleeting and ephemeral
movements of the city. And the photographs
whould present a visual meditation that is
both singular and universal.
Happy Valley
222