DIE ENTSTEHUNG EINER INSEL/ TRANSFORMING LANDSCAPES

Introduction

In my project Die Entstehung einer Insel – Transforming Landscapes I’m working on the aesthetics of “natural” and artificial landscapes with a visual approach.

I am analysing transformations within landscapes, caused by human intervention. More precisely, I am looking at the production of renewable energy through hydroelectric power and how it influences and changes our environment. Based on the observation that territories are viewed as natural resources and property to benefit from, I started off with the question:

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How profoundly is the environment and the landscape being shaped through human intervention?

The space I am analysing is the Norwegian landscape, based on it being the sixth largest producer of hydro-electric power and the interesting approach the Norwegian culture has towards nature and wilderness. Considering that there lies a contradiction between the impact of hydro-electric power production on the landscape and the cultural importance of the untouched nature, which I in this project call wilderness. This lead me to the second question: To which extent is nature and the perception of landscape connected to a cultural identity and how is it expressed?

Another observation I made on expeditions to places of hydroelectric pow- er production is the phenomenon of constructed environments, that create unplanned spaces. From my perspective, these changed environments can be described as artificial landscapes. This notion can also be specified as an artificial landscape that seems natural. Hence the third question:

What is „built nature“ and what is artificial landscape?

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Method

The method I developed during my work on this subject is one that switches between a structured research and an intuitive visual approach.

The research is a collection of references, information, observations, from which I developed three main topics: „Underground Infrastructure“, „Artificial Landscape that seems Natural“ and „Ecosystems“.

The visual approach is what I call the Fragments. They are associations and connections that I have studied and given an image. The Fragments are a way of looking at a space from a certain perspective. All coming together they provide us with an understanding of a space from different point of views, with the hope that they might open up a space for reflection or that they might function as a mirror for the conflict we find ourselves in with nature.

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