GAIA
This series, still in progress, takes its name from the hypothesis by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis, which describes Earth as a single superorganism in which living beings and the rest of the planet establish a self-regulating equilibrium that ensures the survival of the whole.
I have juxtaposed photographs of our natural environment and explored the links, echoes, and resonances between them. Each image brings something to its pair that modifies the overall interpretation. It is as if a new reality were generated, different from the simple sum of its parts.
This effect ties in with Ralph Gibson's theory of 'visual overtones', according to which, by putting two images together, an effect similar to that of music can be produced when two or more tones combine to generate a different, richer, and more complex third.
This interplay aims to highlight the subtle connections that exist between living and non-living elements. And to remind us that, as a species, we are also part of this precious mechanism, and that we now have a crucial role in maintaining the balance necessary for the planet's survival.
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"These are masterly diptychs. Each image is remarkable in its own right - the lighting, cropping, the attentiveness to many fine details, the wonders of nature - all of these qualities come through. And when two images are paired so thoughtfully, with such visual grace, the sense of wonder and awe expands and delights even more intensely as the visual echoes reverberate."
Jim Casper (Editor-in-Chief & Co-Founder of LensCulture )
"Visually poetic and quietly powerful, the Gaia series by Jaume Llorens demonstrates the connection between art and science. This series explores the notion of "Earth as a single superorganism", but through an artistic lens."
Deborah Klochko (Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, California)
"In this series, Llorens observes earth as a “single organism in which living beings and the land itself establish a self-regulating equilibrium.” His pairing of images brings this concept to life. In his diptychs, Llorens merges plants and animals to create strange but poetic new beings. There are flowers that grow roots in the form of spider webs and blossoms that flock together like birds. There is a dark, but beautiful disorientation that occurs in his images. There is no day or night, no up or down. Ocean waves crash upwards, bursting into small blossoms that twinkle like stars against the black sky. A cloud appears to float in inky soil underground and above it; the skeletal branches of a tree reach up into the sky."
Mia Dalglish (Life Framer Series Award juror and Co-Curator at Pictura Gallery).
AWARDS
LensCulture Critics' Choice 2023, Top Pick
Photolucida Critical Mass 2023, Top 50
IX Life Framer Series Award 2024, Finalist
LensCulture Black & White Awards 2024, Finalist
