Moderninsing Nature

Born in 1981 in South Africa, Zak van Biljon studied at the National College of Photography in Pretoria, before emigrating to Europe in 2004. Over the past two decades, van Biljon has made a name for himself in the art world working in the field of commercial photography while simultaneously consolidating his skills as a fine art photographer. Van Biljon’s work explores notions of reality and perception, nature and urbanity, through his signature style of infrared photography.

The infrared photography technique—originally developed for military surveillance and crop surveys—consists of a process, where infrared-sensitive photographic materials react to the near-infrared light that is naturally reflected by organic materials. As a result of this, van Biljon’s naturescapes photographs visually manifest themselves in vibrant red and pink colors. Combined with the Zurich-based photographer’s expertise on staging natural light within the framework of his artistic practice, this unique technique contributes to the vast visual stimuli with which the viewer is confronted when seeing van Biljon’s work. In other words, by making masterful use of the infrared photography technique, van Biljon manages to go beyond the everyday visible spectrum. In doing so, he challenges our universal understandings of perception of nature and landscape. Modernising Nature, as a series, thus embodies a complex catalogue of visual indexicality that interferes with everyday reality and calls for an unprecedented examination of our environment.

The works included in the exhibition at Galerie 10 give insight into Zak van Biljon’s pivotal—yet continually evolving—imagery ranging from majestic infrared pictures of Swiss- local landscapes, through to detail-oriented nature studies and to photographic analyses of organic structures such as flower fields or branch wood. Oftentimes, the latter unfold their full effect beyond the picture’s borders. In doing so, Zak van Biljon reveals the ubiquitous dialogue between humankind and nature. He examines how the alternate color ranges revealed in his photographs confront our sense of realism, calling to mind the effects of current-day modernity upon nature. In the words of author Lukas Tonetto: “The vivid pinks and reds in Zak van Biljon’s work will therefore attract those neon city dwellers which think they have overcome nature and who are yet subconsciously reminded of nature out there.”