b.H. Jaramillo

Although I am a city dweller, I yearn for the unspoiled natural landscape of my childhood, the green forests and the small lively creeks where the water was pristine. These places provided me with a timeless sense of inner peace and balance. In the present day, the land has been modified by urban development projects and the “improvements” of modern infrastructure. Hence the clear creeks were lost and much of the vegetation was destroyed. Today, I long for a close connection with a natural world that no longer exists.

In our highly industrialized society and as a result of human activities, we frequently see how massive sections of the earth have been modified. Fast population growth demands city expansions, efficient food production, and consumer goods. Consequently, increasingly larger portions of land are dedicated to urban development. The top soil is peeled off and the earth is cut open to accommodate freeways and other civil infrastructures. The natural world is not appreciated as sacred entity, but is handled as a commodity to be exploited; an attitude that reveals the underlying values of our culture.

Intensive farm production adds another layer to environmental concerns. In order to plant food or raise livestock, forests are being devastated. As the industrial production of food satisfies the demand, it also destroys living habitats and disrupts natural processes that took thousands and thousands of years to be established. In addition, the mining industry is causing great damage to the environment by providing the raw materials for cities to develop. It leaves behind holes, contaminated waters and disrupted soils. The land is destroyed and contaminated in order to extract minerals; the raw materials for consumer goods. Planet Earth is a living body that receives new scars on a daily basis. My work addresses the vital space we occupy and the core emotional connection with the land.

My work is an aesthetic investigation of the exterior and interior tensions produced after breaking ones’ connection with the natural world. The purpose is to present a space for dialogue inviting the viewer to rethink their relationship with nature and the environment we co-create as a society.