WHENUA
WHENUA
[2025]
photobook [30x30cm]
At first, embarking on an inner journey, primarily along biological pathways rather than spiritual ones, the exploration initially unfolds as observation. However, over time, it gradually transforms into something deeper: a journey within.
Through this shift in focus, we are invited to rediscover the essence of life and, at the same time, reconsider the true nature of our being. Through this renewed perspective, familiar structures begin to appear in unfamiliar ways. As a result, these images actively challenge what we believe we already know. Ultimately, the work seeks to bridge the gap between art and science, while also connecting the visible and the invisible.
Therefore, alternative imaging tools are actively sought. Through this process, hidden worlds are brought into view—worlds that are normally beyond the reach of the human eye or camera. In this context, details from animal tissue sections are extracted, enlarged, and reimagined. Consequently, natural phenomena, landforms, and landscapes begin to emerge from the biological fabric of life.
/ roots of a tree on the ground
/ sea foam on the shore
WHENUA
As shown above, WHENUA draws its meaning from language as well as imagery. In Māori, “whenua” means both “land” and “placenta.” Because of this dual meaning, the inward journey becomes an exploration of biological origin as much as a reimagining of landscape. In this way, what lies beneath the skin is not separate from the world we walk upon. Instead, the work encourages us to reconsider boundaries not as divisions, but as connections between origin and terrain, body and earth.
/ islands on a river
/ dusty road between two corn fields
/ a frozen lake
/ frozen blocks of ice on a glacier
/ mud tracks in the melting snow
For this reason, this project is based on microscopic images of animal organs and tissues, created with the support of the University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest. Once removed from their medical context, these sections transform into unfamiliar terrains. Within these visual fields, I actively search for landscapes, landforms, and natural phenomena. Gradually, mountains, horizons, skies, erosion, and weather-like structures emerge through visual association.
As a result, the work functions as a game of perception and imagination. Rather than defining meaning fully, what I identify within the images appears only as small text. In this way, space is left for viewers to form their own interpretations. Ultimately, viewers are encouraged to recognize familiar landscapes within unfamiliar biological structures. In doing so, the work reveals how meaning continually shifts between scientific imagery and subjective perception.
/ a muddy puddle
/ a sandstorm
SEE THE FLIPBOOK VERSION BELOW:
However. Therefore. However. Therefore. However. Therefore. However. Therefore.