Visual Inspiration
The imagery in Life Finds a Way draws heavily from artists who use everyday objects to reflect on environmental and cultural themes, transforming waste into powerful statements. These creative influences helped shape not only the aesthetic of the series but also its ability to communicate complex ideas through visual storytelling.
Mandy Barker: Turning Waste into Symbols
Mandy Barker’s work with ocean plastics, such as her SOUP series, captures the overwhelming scale of pollution by elevating debris into visually stunning compositions. Her meticulous arrangements of discarded objects inspired my own approach to framing decaying technologies in Life Finds a Way. Barker’s ability to create beauty out of waste was a big inspiration to focus on texture and contrast, using the organic overgrowth in my images to symbolize nature’s reclamation of human artifacts.
Barker: "Barcode - 490250 5085680 (Japan)" (2019)
Alejandro Durán: Fusion of Natural and Artificial
Alejandro Durán’s Washed Up series integrates plastic pollution into natural settings, blending vibrant synthetic materials with organic landscapes. Durán’s deliberate use of bright colors and textures informed my approach to juxtaposing the industrial surfaces of technology with the soft, organic growth of moss, fungi, and algae. This blending of the artificial and the natural resonates throughout Life Finds a Way, emphasizing both the harm caused by human waste and nature’s persistent adaptability.
Durán: "Riachuelo (Brook)" (2017)
Caleb Charland: Creating Narratives Through Installation
Caleb Charland’s Back to Light series, where he constructs sculptures powered by natural elements, inspired my hands-on approach to prop-making. Like Charland, this series transformed discarded objects - such as old watches, cameras, and phones - into visual metaphors for decay and renewal. Crafting these props allowed Life Finds A Way to physically explore the themes of reclamation and resilience, ensuring that the tactile qualities of the objects were as authentic as their photographic representation.
Charland: "Orange Battery" (2012)
A Confluence of Visual Inspirations
The visual influences behind Life Finds a Way shaped its aesthetic through intricate textures of moss and fungi, alongside the deliberate framing of decayed technologies. Drawing from Barker’s evocative symbolism, Durán’s integration of natural and artificial elements, and Charland’s focus on process, the project establishes a visual language that highlights both the fragility of human progress and the resilience of nature. These artistic inspirations push the boundaries of environmental commentary, reframing waste not merely as a problem but as a space for transformation and reflection.
Borth: "Polaroid Camera: Capturing
Time's Decay" (2024)
