Unnatual Formations
This series examines theme parks in Central Florida as sites in which nature is carefully constructed and curated within highly commercialized spacess. I investigate the ways in which nature is packaged, sanitized, and presented to visitors, transformed into a consumable spectacle that reflects broader cultural values and ideologies. These parks offer a stylized representation of the natural world, stripped of its inherent unpredictability and complexity, and reconfigured as something safe, orderly, and aesthetically controlled.
This idealized portrayal points to a fundamental tension within Western conceptions of nature, in which it is simultaneously revered and feared, celebrated and domesticated. By isolating the visual aesthetics of nature from its material realities, these corporate environments discourage sustained engagement and critical reflection. Through this body of work, I invite viewers to consider what is obscured or lost in this process of translation, and how entertainment-driven spaces shape contemporary understandings of the natural world.
