Following on from his series ‘Deep Inside III’ shown in our Summer newsletter, we are very pleased to present Jaume Llorens new and on-going series ‘Gaia’. The series was recently voted ‘Top 10 Picks’ at the prestigious LensCulture Critics’ Choice Awards 2023. The series 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.
The series consists of diptychs created by juxtaposing two photographs of natural elements found in Llorens’ local environment. These elements generate a third image that combines these two photographs into a harmonious whole, which differs from the simple sum of its parts, as described by Ralph Gibson with his ‘overtones’. New and balanced realities can be created from this simple juxtaposition. The work aims to reflect on the need to re-establish the connection with nature, neglected for too long, and to feel a responsible part of this marvellous gear once again to ensure the survival of our planet.
Jim Casper (Editor-in-Chief & Co-Founder of LensCulture) on judging the series, commented: “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 came 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.”
