art

Intimacy with Nature

Next Generation

Next Generation is an annual collaboration with London College of Communication, University of the Arts London. This issue of Aesthetica marks the sixth instalment – featuring seven new talents entering the photographic sphere. Nature is a vital component to this year’s selection, with practitioners demonstrating a sensitivity to the seasons, and their relation to the human experience. As the climate crisis seeps into widespread attitudes, agendas and emotional wellbeing, so too are upcoming graduates taking footsteps back into the analogue world. Pale orange petals, burnt red leaves and delicate white daisies are scattered throughout the compositions, with skin and clothing blending into the environments. Shadows and sunlight melt into one another, drawing attention to the passing of time and the movements from summer to autumn. Implicit tensions are rife – bodies are obscured and hidden amongst woodlands and abandoned houses. www.arts.ac.uk/lcc.

Beatriz Oliveira, from Slow. Portugal, 2019.

92 Aesthetica