The series 'Natural Catalogue' explores social understanding of
Nature and whatis nowadays considered as natural. To avoid the trap
of the dominant narratives Ifound most useful to adopt a method of
the alphabetic order. This approach helpsto give the equal
attention to most diverse aspects of the Nature discourse. Bydoing
so, the catalogue helps to capture the multiplicity of meanings,
oftenparadoxical or un-natural, which are often unaccounted, yet,
essential to ourunderstanding and meanings of Nature and
"natural".
Nowadays, looking at and photographing represent ultimate way
how peoplerelate towards their natural surroundings. Here, in this
series, the photographybecomes a paradoxical medium for reflecting
back on the human-nature relations.To better reflect the complexity
of the social contructions of Nature, I combine myown works with
appropriated photographs, generated by institutions for whichNature
belongs to an official agenda*.
*The sources of the photographic material:1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9,
11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26 AgataMarzecova,10,
25 University archives, Geography department, Liverpool
University,24 field works documentation, Institute of Ecology,
Tallinn University,18, 23 promotional files, SEEDS Iceland, NGO for
environmental education,3, 8 Academic archive, Doc. Ing. Duan
Haama, CSc.,12 other sources.
Agata Marzecova (1981).
Having been interested in natural history and as well as in
image-making, Agatagraduated in ecology (2005) and photography
(2010). Currently she is working onher Ph.D. dissertation at
Tallinn University (Estonia) while continuing herphotographic
practice. Oscillating between the traditional large
formatphotography and the inderdisciplinary projects that combine
art and research,Agata's work adresses questions of natural
history, and the complexity ofhistorically changing perception of
human-nature constructions. Her photographicprojects were showed at
various exhibitions including Grey romance (2011) andContemporary
landscape (2011) in Czech republic, Biennale of lost images'Erosion
2010' in Lithuania, Stranger than ordinary (2010) in Slovakia and
Projectprecarious (2010) in Estonia.
She presented her photographic and academic research at several
symposia,such as the workshop ''Doing Environments: Social Studies
of the Techno-Managerial Enactment of Natures (2013)' in Tallinn;
Nordic geographer's meeting2013 in Reykjavik; photography
conference 'Photomedia 2012' in Helsinki, or'Creative economies
(2009)' symposium in Kuala Lumpur organized by Asian-European
Emerging Photographers Forum.
The series Natural Catalogue was shortlisted for the SITTCOMM
AWARD 2010 andexhibited in several exhibitions including the
exhibition 'New Typologies' curatedby Yasufumi Nakamori for the
2010 Singapore International Photography Festival.
