Artist’s Statement

My work documents and interrogates the use of nature in the state of Maine. As the New Topographics movement utilized the landscape tradition to objectify domestic sprawl in the 1970’s midwest, the documentary style of my photographs connects the plight of oppressed humans, so often depicted for the interest and entertainment of the artist and viewer, with the oppression of nature.

“Vacationland,” as the moniker suggests, holds an inherent tension between reverence for the natural world and a selfish exploitation of it. By collecting examples and examining the aesthetic qualities of the interactions between these two opposing forces, I hope to create a better understanding of the false dichotomy of humanity and environment, self and other.

Please feel free to contact me at nateatkinsonart@gmail.com.