KELDA VAN PATTEN       

Nature Inside playfully disrupts the portrayal of houseplants in both physical and digital domestic realms, drawing inspiration from the surge in indoor gardening during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the longstanding tradition of cultivating nature within homes throughout history, this specific trend during quarantine shed light on how individuals turned to domestic horticulture as a coping mechanism for loss and anxiety.

Informed by her expanding collection of houseplants and an online reflection of life's cultivation during a year of lockdown, Van Patten engages in a process of cutting, reassembling, and collaging her photographs. This deliberate technique blurs the lines between depth and flatness, accentuates imperfections, and transmutes plants into hyperreal objects. Additionally, she subtly references the photographic medium by incorporating gels, strobe lights, and cords, alluding to the process behind capturing these moments. Infused with whimsy and humor, these photographs serve as a nod to themes of loss, isolation, containment, and representation within the context of the pandemic experience. #plantsofinstagram #urbanjungle 

Nature Inside Artist Book