"Every article of clothing,accessory, object that we acquire as good consumers contributes to our idea of identity which we form as a type of protection. Our “stuff” allows us to feel as if we are more than what we really are, mortals. While the stuff creates a psychological shield against mortality it also serves to define and separate us from one another, the haves from the have nots. It is however the things that we have in common which bring us closer to one another, not our differences. What we all share is our physical presence on earth, our interdependence on nature and our collective consciousness.
By stripping my people of their clothing I am stripping them of all social indicators, status, etc.. and this allows me to focus on their essential being and relationship to nature. The increasingly disturbed relationship between man and nature is at present what is behind the greatest threats to our well being as well as our future existence. To serve my purpose I have picked up a tie to a very classic art form with a long tradition ( at least before the 20th century) the nude in landscape. I am updating this classic appreciation of humanity and nature with a more contemporary way of looking; a more “photographic” aesthetic , more realistic gestures and compositions, less romanticism. Through this process, I hope to make my subject more accessible to people today, lest we believe that mans’ state of union with nature is a memory of the past, lost forever."

Susannah Martin