Using digital methods to connect with nature

Recently I was introduced to the work of Jacob Kudsk Steensen, a 21st Century digital artist who has made various works such as The Deep Listener, Re-animated and Catharsis. I was awed by his work, specifically, these three nature based pieces. He creates vivid, clear and beyond realistic images of insects, plants and other aspects of nature.

Catharsis is a large-scale, immersive installation that pulls audiences into a digital simulation of a re-imagined old-growth forest. This imaginary forest has existed undisturbed for hundreds of years, free from human intervention and suffused with birdsong. (Steensen 2020)

You see, what Mr. Steensen does that makes his work so compelling and engaging is that he takes the viewer on a journey into a wholesome and visually stimulating digital environment. He plays with the senses of sight and sound to give a realistic and physical presence to his art. The trees, water and tree trunks look as though they might just be within one’s reach.

He adopts a philosophy called ‘Slow Media’, the concept of making sustainable use of the digital age’s fast and simultaneous nature to create valuable and quality based content. He adds his own definition to slow media in relation to his works by stating that to him, slow media uses digital technologies to draw attention to the natural world and create new narratives on our ecological future.

In the fast paced nature of our modern day life, slow media opens digital portals and enables us to see nature for what it really is. Nature is not simply a resource from which we are meant to extract endlessly. We depend on nature and it depends on us as well. Artists like Jacob Kudsk Steensen are paving the way for creators of all kinds to start taking responsibility and boost abundant portrayals of nature in it’s wholesome essence.

Originally published at http://kerensarahobara.com on May 15, 2020.