In the years 2003-2004, I have been working on a series titled Destinations. The series is based on photos of North American tourist attractions, nature preserves and towns. I have documented Cape Cod, the Everglades and the Mohave Desert, among others. Tourism conditions the way we look at the land. It is an industry that grows by creating a vast network of privileged and idealized points of view. By placing multiple sites in conjunction with one another, I make this mediated zone tangible.

Time seems suspended in these tranquil universes. The vast stretches of land are seductive and embody a touch of the sublime; one could almost consider them a magnification of nature. Yet the serenity of these panoramas is feigned; they sow doubt about natural enchantment. The attentive gaze moves within the photograph, noticing the occasional inconsistency. These images are composed of paradoxes and antitheses: that which attracts is always juxtaposed with one or more opposite effects. Situated midway between chaotic urban periphery and postcard, they could be models or plans for disconcerting developments. The viewer becomes intrigued by their strangeness and ambiguity and experiences a reaction that is divided between rejection and fascination.

These landscapes-for-show draw attention to our interest in the grandiose and our ambivalent attitude towards the world: our desire to control it as well as our desire to become immersed in it.

12 large format images