© Zak van Biljon | Rheinschlucht, Grisons, CH 2020
Magic red mountains
Zak van Biljon
Biljon used a near-infrared technique, which reverses the colours in his landscapes.
In his landscapes, we see reddish colours where we expect the colour green of the leaves which creates a sense of alienation. But the goal of South African photographer Zak van Biljon, now living in Switzerland, is to make us conscious of the biological function of nature. He used a near-infrared technique, which reverses the colours in his landscapes. The natural scenes reconnect him with the abundant wildlife of his homeland. "I missed the wild nature of Africa and only realised it over time. Probably, I started to seek it out again."
The landscape photographs of Zak van Biljon look alienating. Instead of the natural green colours of trees and bushes, we see a mixture of red and purple colours mixed with intense blueish or greenish hues of the snow-clad peaks. The title of his new series, Modernising Nature, may suggest we have to modernise nature, or ourselves, concerning nature. Zak van Biljon suggests both options. "I think we need a new viewpoint of nature. I also think we are neglecting nature and abusing it for other needs. My concept of this series is that even though we have a modern way of looking at it, we still think of nature as we always had. When the Instagram boom started, people used to hunt for landscapes, and the photo of nature was more meaningful to them than the landscape itself. We missed the importance of the idea of modernising. City people are disconnected from nature. They are fixated on their phones. So, I want to attract them with a fresh vision, with neon-coloured landscapes. Hopefully, my images can remind them of nature and that our relationship with it is still essential to us."
The unexpected alien colours make the spectator rethink what nature is and how he approaches it. Van Biljon: "The colours play a role because they create an alien-like landscape. When you look at the photos, you still feel you're looking at nature. It's not entirely strange. The red and pink are fairly close to the complementary colours of the greens, which makes you not feel threatened. It does not feel like an alien country. It looks interesting, but you still feel comfortable with it."
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Classify nature
Our perception of nature depends on schemes for classifying nature according to our history and philosophies. During the Renaissance and Romantic periods, painted landscapes were a myth. The paintings mainly showed an idealised landscape: the picturesque in which power and appropriation of the land were interwoven. The myth gave the possessor of the painting visual power over the painted land. In the romantic 19th century, in reaction to the dominant rationality of the 18th century, landscape as a genre became the subject of passion and expression. Van Biljon about our innate classification and visual literacy: "I grew up in South Africa, and nature played a huge role. It was always of great importance. Growing up in a city, you never thought nature was a vital part of your life because you were not so connected to it. This literacy keeps changing according to the development of society. If we keep seeing nature digitally on a screen, it changes our viewpoint, and we end up not seeing the real thing anymore."
If we keep seeing nature digitally on a screen, it changes our viewpoint.
Imbued with historical concepts of nature, we need a new approach or perception of nature to relate to it again. Biljon's stunning landscapes have a classical composition, but the alien colours put us on another track of seeing. "Urbanisation is madly increasing. People need to go out into nature, and we should incorporate it more into our lives to appreciate and see it. Therefore, I created these images with an apparent, unreal approach."
Most photos of the Modernising Nature series show majestic mountains that even remind us of Ansel Adams. "In the mountains, you have a grand view, a bigger view of something. I often took the photos from a higher viewpoint, making you look down onto the landscape and see the bigger picture. And yes, I live in Switzerland, but I also took pictures in Canada and South Africa."
Aerochrome
Most landscapes have been shot with the discontinued Kodak Aerochome negative film. Kodak Aerochrome is a near-infrared film originally designed for aerial photography, with forestry, cartography, industrial, and military applications. But currently, Zak de Biljon uses a specially modified Phase One Spectrum, back mounted on a Cambo frame. Near-infrared light refers to light that is just outside the visible range. It can show the temperature of the objects. The leaves of trees and plants can reflect infrared light, which works as an effective cooling system, preventing them from drying out. That ability makes the woods our natural air conditioner. The reddish colours show the cooling function of the woods. "I started with Aerochrome in 2010, and since it's no longer available, I also moved over to digital. I also shoot with a Russian infrared film. It's not as colourful as the Aerochrome. If it's something locally where I don't have to travel far to shoot, I will shoot it still on Aerochrome because I still have quite a bit frozen. And if I go to South Africa or somewhere like that, I will take the digital Phase One, with a sensor sensitive from UV to infrared light."
Civilisation
The landscape photographs of Modernising Nature, and even more the cityscapes photographs of Civilisation, show the cooling system in nature and cities. It also appears to be a social investigation, making us more conscious of the role of nature and creating a reconnection. "In Civilisation, I compare the aspect of nature in the cities. Three is one photo of Athens, where there's very little greenery; there are mainly buildings. The construction of the city depends on the social structures. This affects the importance that is given to nature. Cities like Zurich or Munich, which are healthier and wealthier, are much greener."
Van Biljon has been using the same technique to work on a series about glaciers recently. "Because of the red, you have the opposite thought because it's like a glacier. Moss grows on these stones, but you don't see it because it has the same brown colour as the stones. But the moss reflects because of the chlorophyll. So, it looks like lava flowing down onto the glaciers, which is very interesting when you realise it is cooling even though it looks like it is melting."
Zak van Biljon is a landscape and fine art photographer born in South Africa and now living in Switzerland. He has honed his craft through formal education at the Cape Town School of Photography, where he focused on black and white printing, and the National College of Photography, where he graduated as the best student. He also took a course at the MOMA, further refining his skills and techniques in photography.
https://www.zakvanbiljon.com
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