Mai Naito, Oneirataxia (ART 2024)

Oneirataxia explores my memories and imagination of the natural world through photography. Inspired by my personal childhood, the work visually depicts my recollections of daydreams when passing through natural spaces, exploring the midst of reality and fantasy. Through sheer visual pleasure and appreciation, Oneirataxia encourages the audience to perceive the world subjectively and emotionally to propel the discovery of a deeper connection between themselves and their natural environment.     Personally, a memory is defined as an impression that melds visual fragments over the course of a moment. To create the pieces, photographs of luring/intriguing moments were taken while walking through natural scenery. These photographs were then layered in postproduction and compressed to form a single image - depicting a passage of time within a single frame and creating an entire memory that can be held in our hands and become physical again.     By digitally layering multiple photographs it is intended that they initially be perceived as paintings before the characteristics of photography become apparent upon closer inspection. By considering the role of photography and historical paintings in representing the natural landscape, and in turn, our recollections, this series questions the opinion that photography is a mere technological process and a tool for depicting realism devoid of human soul or emotion.  

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.