Reverting is a visual exploration of the commodification of nature within Iceland’s tourist industry. Spanish artist Francisco Gonzalez Camacho addresses tourism-related issues like gentrification, waste, and environmental degradation. The project involves photographing natural sites and creating handmade recycled paper, reflecting the transformative cycle of waste and environmental equilibrium.

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Published in issue #4 2024, Expressive Nature

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Francisco Gonzalez Camacho: My Work is part of visual research through materiality on the commodification of nature in the context of the Icelandic tourist industry. It was developed in Reykjavík with the SIM artist-in-residence program. Gentrification, waste, and environmental degradation are some tourism-related problems that challenge the idealised image of the Icelandic landscape. During my stay, I photographed highly visited natural locations, which I reinterpreted in combination with creating my own handmade recycled paper from waste. This exploration mirrors the transformative process of manifesting something from the void —a form of alchemy of waste— with the delicate equilibrium of our environment and the perpetual cycle it follows.

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About

Francisco Gonzalez Camacho (b. 1990) is a Spanish visual artist, based in Helsinki. Gonzalez Camacho’s multidisciplinary approach ranges from photography, graphic printing methods, and handmade artists’ books. His practice results from intuitive exploration centred around themes such as family, immigration and the connectedness between landscape and self. He has been exhibited internationally and featured in publications such as Der Greif, Booooooom and GUP magazine, among others. He was awarded a photobook award by Booooooom in 2022 and selected as a finalist for the Carte Blanche students by Paris Photo in 2023.

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www.frangc.com