From December 01, 2021 to December 31, 2021
Surroundings play a dominant role in shaping experience. Each image in this series is a composite of three separate original images: one of someone enjoying leisure at the beach, a cityscape, and a photograph of dramatic weather as seen from my back porch. Separately, they are subjects I love to photograph for their beauty and the awe they inspire in me. Together they tell a story of city dwellers searching for moments of relief in a world shaped by climate change, and the struggle to find a balance between an environment in crisis and manmade structures.
My work as a photographer is the culmination of a life-long investment in the power of art and visual culture to shape and influence social change. The power of photography that has been manipulated lies in our inclination to believe what we see in the image as a reality. These images make concrete neither reality nor the future, but one possible future. While they have an apocalyptic tone, they are inspired also by humor. Ultimately, this work is not pessimistic. I am hopeful that, as many urban planners and landscape architects are already doing, we can develop more sustainable and resilient community-oriented cities.
Curators: Amanda Smith and Kevin Tully
Diana Cheren Nygren is a fine art photographer from Boston, Massachusetts. Her work explores the relationship of people to their physical environment and landscape as a setting for human activity. Her photographs address serious social questions through a blend of documentary practice, invention, and humor. Diana was trained as an art historian with a focus on modern and contemporary art, and the relationship of artistic production to its socio-political context. Her emphasis on careful composition in her photographic work, as well as her subject matter, reflect this training. Her work is motivated by a conviction in the power of art as a social driver. Her project When the Trees are Gone has been exhibited widely, featured in numerous publications, and won a number of awards including Discovery of the Year in the 2020 Tokyo International Foto Awards and 2nd place in the 2020 International Photo Awards. The Persistence of Family was awarded Best New Talent in the 2021 Prix de la Photographie de Paris, and has been in exhibitions across the globe from Paris, France, to Lishui, China.
