FLAT // LAND

Books, Manuscripts and Maps, Classical Antiquities, Egyptian Works of Art, Coins and Medals, Modern and Contemporary Art, Photography, Highlights

description

In Views of Nature (2024–2025), De Rode explores the eponymous travelogues of 19th-century naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), who is considered the father of ecology. As a product of Romanticism while simultaneously laying the foundation for a scientific discipline, Humboldt serves as an allegorical personification of De Rode’s exploration of the interplay between reason and feeling in perception. Using excerpts from Ansichten der Natur (1808) as both titles and starting points, De Rode oscillates between analysis and affect, exploring both his surroundings and his inner world.

The cyanotype - often used as a tool for botanical documentation - allows for a counter-narrative. Through toning the cyanotypes with a variety of natural tannins, the works acquire an earthly character that better reflects the natural world while aiming to spark a sense of wonder and mysticism through their subject matter and pictorialism. Aiming for balance in reason and feeling, Views of Nature reflects on Humboldt's plea for sensibility as a potential antidote to modern day alienation.

Distant thunder proclaims the approach of vivifying rain, 2025

Views of Nature - series
Toned cyanotype in stainless steel frame
51 x 41 cm

Contact

FLAT // LAND

Amsterdam

M. 0031 6 25025 306 www.flatlandgallery.com