These digital photographs present views into actual envisioned places. The camera reveals places unknown and unseen from any other perspective. Each static image presents a brief moment, selected from thousands, frozen in time from one of these beautiful, ruinous worlds. Time, distance, place and scale all dissolve through these portals into unknown landscapes. Large scale prints enhance the observers immersive experience. All images are printed in small editions.
“Bennett Morris conjures phosphorescent beauty from post-apocalyptic landscapes in his photographs of sculptural models. At his studio, Morris constructs elaborate sets out of found objects and submerges them under water. He then adds pigments to the water, creating smokey swirls of color around the topsy-turvy structures. Finally, he photographs the results, the finished products resembling dystopian versions of Romantic landscape paintings from the 19th century.
While the Hudson River School idealized the splendor of America’s natural wonders, Morris fixates on scenes of ruination. Architectural and infrastructural elements are ripped from their rightful places and twisted into masses of steel, rock, and soil. Still, one cannot help but feel stupefied by his foggy, alien-like skies, which seethe with toxic tones of orange, green, pink, and yellow.”