non-guilty
The conflict between nature and artificial landscapes is a notion of the past. This by no means implies that there is a homogenous relationship between men, the surroundings he creates, and nature. Rather, the condition is one of acceptance and embracing. The hybridity of the past has left its place to a blending. Men’s intervention into nature is now recognized as innate. Co-existence, side by sideness, constant interaction have become a means of survival and being. As photography becomes a part of everyday life and as the camera becomes an extension of the body, photographs are no longer representations but rather they become a natural device of recording. Landscapes of all kinds become natural, creation and creativity become one—the so-called records become stand-ins for the very specific relationship between the photographer and the camera. The images thus mirror and signify a state—they cease to exist on their own and it is precisely this lack of independence that make them images of a non-guilty landscape. —Merve Ünsal