Hannah Schneider

Decay of Nature

This piece explores the process of the decay of nature as it deteriorates from a lively and nourished physical world, to a struggling world that is fragile and withered, and finally to a dead world that has nothing left, with everything having been stolen due to its vulnerable disposition.

As the disintegration occurs, the world, once blue, fades into a planet lacking the vibrancy it once had. The cyanotype is a photographic printing process that uses coated fabric exposed to light to create blue prints. The process of creating cyanotypes was used in this piece to photograph the decay of nature, a process that happens over time, with the imprints of objects that are records of the shadows that were once there. The objects, leaves, pine needles, slivers of grass, and sticks, were dying as they were being exposed on the fabric in the autumn light to create the imagery. The piece is made up of a composite of multiple images pieced together to form a singular concept of the process of decay. After viewing this piece of work, I would like individuals to have a better understanding of how fragile nature is. Nature is extremely vulnerable to corrosion because of climate change, deforestation, and over-development. I would like viewers to have a greater appreciation of the elements of nature we still have, and rely on, today.

Included in Meredith College’s 2022 Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition