Expedition: Surreal Landscapes Composed from Hundreds of Photographs by Catherine Nelson
Belgium-based artist Catherine Nelson just unveiled a new series of works titled Expedition. The digitally “painted” collages are made from hundreds upon hundreds of photographs that Nelson meticulously assembles into sprawling worlds that straddle the line between real and imagined. The five pieces you see here were nearly 10 months in the making.
Unlike her previous collages that resemble tiny planets, the pieces from Expedition subvert traditional landscapes with a horizon and single vanishing point and instead seem to sprawl in every direction, as if being viewed from multiple vantage points at once. Each landscape is quite large, measuring 60″ tall by up to 115″ wide and is rich with details like hidden snakes, bats and lizards, all elements influenced by Nelson’s memories of her natural surroundings growing up along the east coast of Australia.
Nelson will soon have work at the Head On Photo Festival in Sydney this May with Michael Reid Gallery and a solo show in August at Gallerysmith in Melbourne.