Un/Natural: Themes of Nature in the Work of Contemporary New Zealand Photographers

Abstract

Photographs of nature may comment upon or aim at improving humankind’s relationship with the natural environment. Such images may also serve to reinforce binaries that perpetuate the human/non-human divide: wilderness, the pastoral, images that rely on the sublime or the picturesque to mask the scars humans have left on the landscape. Photographers investigating nature may seek reconnection with the natural environment or, conversely, interrogate traditional romantic approaches to its representation. This thesis investigates the theme of nature in the work of a diverse group of contemporary New Zealand photographers: Shaun Barnett, Wayne Barrar, Joyce Campbell, David Cook, Peter Evans, Bruce Foster, Anne Noble, Jason O’Hara, Fiona Pardington, Peter Peryer, Natalie Robertson, Grahame Sydney, and Ans Westra. Their work traverses a number of genres, including landscape and still life/nature morte. Considering nature in the Anthropocene era, this thesis examines how these photographers approach the ways in which we experience and define nature, the complex patterns that make up our environment, the processes that we have employed to shape our environments, and the impact that these processes have had. Photographing the changing landscapes of New Zealand, the Kermadecs, and Antarctica, these photographers explore new representational codes that reflect a growing environmental awareness and sensitivity. This is a deliberate step away from picturing the landscape as the aestheticised surface of the natural world and a move towards investigating the very representational codes that make up what might be termed our cultural landscape. Examining both Māori and Pākehā perspectives, this thesis demonstrates the diverse meanings nature holds in New Zealand, and investigates bi-cultural narratives that tell of a strong connection between people and place.