Desert Realty

Description

This is the California desert as you've never seen it before, and won't ever see it - except through the photographs of artist Ed Freeman. Instead of focusing on the desert itself, Freeman has trained his lens on the structures we build there, from tool sheds to houses. 'I see the shelters we build for ourselves as our most basic dialogue with nature,' Freeman writes. 'But I am never content merely to observe, and it is just not in my nature to leave well enough alone. ' Instead, he has digitally manipulated photographs shot in a conventional manner; gleefully imposing his own vision onto whatever his camera initially recorded. Anything that doesn't fit into the idealised landscape has been whisked away, and lurid skies, poignant palm trees, and brilliant paintjobs added in. The result is an arresting collection of work that glorifies ordinary structures and subverts the conventions of landscape photography by reworking and enhancing reality. Freeman's work is exemplary of the contemporary photographic practise well into the Photoshop era. Included in the book is a section about Freeman's technique complete with concise, easy-to-follow explanations on how they were made, making the book a veritable primer on how to get the most out of digital manipulation. Rich with beauty, humour, and pathos, Ed Freeman's pictures blur the line between reportage and fantasy, slyly challenging the notion of realistic photography. Otherworldly in its vividness, Desert Realty is a journey through an architectural and metaphysical dreamscape.

Ed Freeman's photographs have been published and exhibited internationally.