Collection: Chris Hill
Nocturnal Landscapes is a series of paintings depicting farmland and fallow field— as they should be: flush with life, no patch of soil left bare, where pollinators, predators and pests abound. Animals graze and peck, weeds and mushrooms numerous. The primary crop thrives- does better than it would on its own- through the synergy of community. The best farms are integrated with the land, mimicking natural shapes and patterns. Inputs and outputs perfectly balanced.
Unfortunately, the majority of the farmland in our country is the opposite of what you will see pictured here. Savage domination of once fertile ground is the norm. The land managers give back as little as possible and of a synthetic form. The result is sterile, bare earth- blowing away in the wind. The monotone hum of a swarm of pests, waiting to devour the next crop left unsprayed by pesticides. One plant species blankets hundreds of acres. A giant pollinator dead zone on the best of days. On the worst of days— ground zero for chemical warfare against Mother Nature. Those of us that live nearby close our windows and bring the cat in on those days.
This series points towards what could be; showing captured moments of moving, living, grown-sculptures. I have been inspired by some of the organic farms in the pioneer valley and a number of home gardens, places of true magic. I hope to capture some of the wonder and clarity I have found in these places and suggest that we all strive to cultivate spaces like this. Find yourself real food, grown on real soil, that is not only dense in nutrients, but whose very growth and existence supports myriad worlds of other organisms both great and small, and their continuity.
