The photograph shown here, called Forces #7, is one of a series staged and shot by New York-based artist Sonja Braas. Braas is interested in the way that we perceive our natural environment, particularly those uninhabitable landscapes where danger is a counterpart to beauty. For the Forces series she built models depicting the raw violence of nature. Once Braas had photographed the models, she destroyed them.
Forces #7 is a compelling, ambiguous image, with a reality that becomes less clear the more closely one looks. It reflects the fading of the romantic notion that parts of nature will always remain pristine and inaccessible to humans.
Some of the Forces series can be seen at the Tanit Gallery in Munich, Germany, from 6 November to 13 December 2003.
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Abbott, A. Force of nature. Nature 426, 19 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/426019a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/426019a
