3rd place
bronze star award
Mai Naito
australia
title
Wundervei
To create this series, I took photographs while walking around a natural space, including trees, flowers, the sky, and a lake. Then, I composited these images in postproduction to create the final images. As I define memory as an impression that melds visual fragments from different scenes I saw while experiencing an event, this multiple exposure technique enables me to collect the visual fragments over time from different scenes I have experienced and combine them into a compressed single image in a way that represents the passage of time, thus visualising my memory of experiencing the natural space in physical form.
This series also explores the tension between photography and painting and the role of technology between the mediums in depicting psychological space. Using digitally composited multiple exposures, I aimed to create a painterly quality in the image to move away from mechanically representational imagery. Through this approach, I aim to break the divide between painting and photography and question the belief that the medium of photography is a mechanical process and is a tool for depicting realism with a visual description devoid of any human soul or subjectivity, leading the viewers to reconsider photography as an art form that may be used for personal expression on par with the other fine art.
Mai grew up in an environment blessed with nature and seeing natural spaces from the perspective of her imagination. Based on her childhood experiences of seeking beauty in nature, she developed an interest in expressing psychological effect in natural space. Through this approach, she aims to connect with the audience through emotion, encouraging them to rediscover a deep connection between themselves and our natural environment.
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entry description
This series, Wundervei, comprises nature photographs created through digital photography and digital manipulation. Inspired by my childhood experience of growing up in an environment blessed with nature and seeing natural spaces from the perspective of my imagination, this series visually depicts my emotional experience when exploring natural spaces. This approach aims to connect with the audience through emotion, encouraging them to rediscover a deep connection between themselves and our natural environment and contribute to preventing the contemporary issue of human disconnection from nature.To create this series, I took photographs while walking around a natural space, including trees, flowers, the sky, and a lake. Then, I composited these images in postproduction to create the final images. As I define memory as an impression that melds visual fragments from different scenes I saw while experiencing an event, this multiple exposure technique enables me to collect the visual fragments over time from different scenes I have experienced and combine them into a compressed single image in a way that represents the passage of time, thus visualising my memory of experiencing the natural space in physical form.
This series also explores the tension between photography and painting and the role of technology between the mediums in depicting psychological space. Using digitally composited multiple exposures, I aimed to create a painterly quality in the image to move away from mechanically representational imagery. Through this approach, I aim to break the divide between painting and photography and question the belief that the medium of photography is a mechanical process and is a tool for depicting realism with a visual description devoid of any human soul or subjectivity, leading the viewers to reconsider photography as an art form that may be used for personal expression on par with the other fine art.
about the photographer
Mai Naito is a photographer born in Osaka, Japan. She left Japan in 2015 and moved to Brisbane, Australia to study and grow in a new environment with better opportunities.Mai grew up in an environment blessed with nature and seeing natural spaces from the perspective of her imagination. Based on her childhood experiences of seeking beauty in nature, she developed an interest in expressing psychological effect in natural space. Through this approach, she aims to connect with the audience through emotion, encouraging them to rediscover a deep connection between themselves and our natural environment.
back to gallery