brian ritchard - portfolio

The Polaroid Paintings

I have always used landscape as a way to explore our complicated relationship with nature. For several years now, I have been making paintings that deal directly with the confluence of Nature and Culture. From 1996 to 2001, these paintings were based on artificial scenic overlooks and fictional Polaroid snapshots that underscored and critiqued society's romanticized feelings about the natural world.

Over the course of making this body of work, I came to accept the fact that in a sense, all landscape is fiction. Further, "Landscapes" are not really even a product of nature, they are a byproduct of our collective self-image. They are also cultural constructs that continue to fascinate and stimulate our deepest primordial senses.