Bonny Leibowitz
Writings, for each body of work, can be found with accompanying portfolios under "Work" or as a PDF here.

Statement

My work embodies concepts of Post-naturalism — a perspective that questions the objectification of nature as pristine and separate from humans. I build objects and installations, investigating narratives that have encouraged humans in the altering and degradation of nature - and its effects.

In the making of these site-specific installations, I utilize, manipulate and conjoin, mangled steel, plastics and architectural parts culled from salvage yards along with branches and tree roots, gathered after storms.

I photograph my 3D works in the studio and out in the land, as well. Those images, along with my photos of trees and landscapes, are then printed on large sheets of aluminum, film, and textiles which I manipulate and incorporate into the installations.

The inclusion of salvaged parts came about after a mesmerizing, unexpected and fortuitous adventure, having happened upon an active demolition site. The scene was beautiful and horrific, suggestive of a war zone - crossed with an amusement park. I was struck by the poetic elegance of the mangled steel… and the destruction of the façade. I began photographing the scene and collecting debris, processes and materials which are now integral to the work.

My engagement with these narratives and processes is observational and responsive, and the work is iterative— nature in relation to the built environment, the studio to land art, and photography as a substitute for reality. There is an awareness of the ravages of the land and how nature and industrialization are inextricably intertwined.

The installations function as facsimiles, representations of nature—a simulacrum— where the distinction between reality and representation collapses and the veil between “out there” and “in here” thins over time.