Human Nature links stories about people, nature and the science of our relationship to the wilderness.
Lucas Foglia grew up with his extended family on a small farm, thirty mile east of New York. The forest that bordered the farm was a wild place to play, yet was ignored by their neighbors, who commuted to Manhattan. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy flooded his family’s fields and blew down the oldest trees in the woods. On the news, Foglia heard scientist blame the storm on climate change caused by human activity. He realized that if humans are changing the weather, then there is no place on earth unaltered by people.
After the storm, Foglia began photographing in cities, and the forests, farms, deserts, ice fields, and oceans. At a time when Americans, on average, spend ninety-three percent of their lives indoors, he photographed government programs bringing people back into contact with nature, neuroscientist researching the beneficial effects of spending time outside, and climate scientist measuring the degree to which human activity influences the atmosphere.
We used to understand nature as all parts of earth besides humans and our creations. But, if there is no place on earth unaltered by people, then nature no longer exists. At he same time, research suggests that time in wild places is integral to our health and happiness.
Human Nature focuses on our current relationship with nature, on how we need wild places even if they have been shaped by us.
www.lucasfoglia.com