The Black Mechanism #37 (Untitled 12009-5210) by Todd Hido

"This is the gift of the landscape photograph, that the heart finds a place to stand” - Emmet Gowin

All photographs are unreal. Even though they are a best attempt at a realistic capturing of a space in time, there is so much else that gets pulled into even the most straightforward landscape photo, unique to both the artist and the viewer. A landscape can evoke a personal memory of a certain space, or point toward a historical significance of the place being photographed. Sometimes, it’s just a mood suggested through the way a certain tree branch bends and twists, or an ominous narrative implied by a neglected house.

With my camera in hand (what Italo Calvino referred to as “the black mechanism”), I have tried to express a subtle disquiet, and suggest an ambient darkness that is as much literal as it is metaphorical. The landscapes show a desolate and dark world, a precipice in time from which one senses we will struggle to emerge. Yet even as these images can be seen to reflect the daily barrage of terrible news, it’s important to remember that each image captures light from within. There is always a ray of light, even a frail one, to illuminate the dark roads, the deep forests, and the icy territories. There is always hope.

Todd Hido

Edition: 1 of 1

Commissioned by Obscura