It appeared as though no one had been there for some time. The local authorities had long ago run out the smugglers, squatters and occultists. All that remained now were the discarded remnants of each group that once called this barren plot of land home. Surprisingly the structures that each group had erected were in this beautiful state of decay that was not hastened by the local thieves or vandals.

As I walked around aimlessly photographing the deserted buildings and refuse, I stumbled upon the interior of one building that had a strange feeling of family intimacy. Personal artifacts from the previous inhabitants littered the floor. Everything from spelling homework to mail and photographs rested comfortably in front of my eyes just for my viewing pleasure.

This particular building had something else that was truly unique to me. The walls from floor to ceiling were covered in this mural wallpaper that depicted a highly romanticized image of a natural landscape. I had never seen that sort of decorative choice made before in the prototypical suburban decor of Southern California. It was almost as if, for a moment, the wallpaper told the entire story of everything that had ever taken place in this now forgotten house.

The wallpaper peeled and warped elegantly off the wall due to the many years of neglect and exposure. It was torn, stained and abused. The combination of the natural imagery with its juxtaposed distortion appealed to me greatly ascetically as well as conceptually.

This peculiar juxtaposition immediately made me comprehend how odd it is for people to tear down one natural environment to then use the harvested resources to synthetically depict another natural environment. For example, clearing a forest of its trees to then print wallpaper-depicting trees in a forest.

Modern humans have always had an interesting relationship with the natural world. Naming geographic regions after their infinite beauty, then eliminating the beauty by developing the land, but yet retaining some whimsical name that references the grandeur that once existed.

This unique behavior is rooted in this self appointed concept that humans hold dominion and control over the natural world. Thus allowing the human psyche to rationalize such behavior.

Manufactured visual depictions of our natural environment through photography, illustrations and paintings etc… indicate that people appreciate the incredible beauty that our natural environment has to offer. Although people value the aesthetics of our natural surroundings we do not  respect our role within the natural order. By displaying our mock depictions of the world outside civilization we are constantly reminding ourselves that we are safe, intelligent and in control. Our natural environment is merely an acquaintance that we visit when we choose.

These visual constructs hold a much larger insight about the human subconscious as it relates to our natural environment. As civilized humans, we are constantly creating systems and operations that actively keep us separated from an existence that we once participated in for so long. By displaying and viewing our synthetic depictions of the natural world we are subconsciously attempting too reconnect with that very existence. As civilized people we are constantly dealing with a form of separation anxiety from the natural world. This separation anxiety brought on by civilization forces humans to constantly be coping with this artificial abstracted reality we have created. This abstracted state that is forced upon us has produced an extremely warped human consciousness.

The greatest tragedy that accompanies this separation anxiety is that there is no going back from this point. Domestication has created too much of a divide between us and the natural world. Civilization, like any other artificial system humans create will exhaust itself, fail and collapse. Like the Romans or Mayans we will merely be a vague memory for people in the future to intrude upon. Those who do decide to restart history will look back on our past lives and homes observing and collecting with more questions than answers .

-Adam