Luke Pardy

Artist Statement

These images came to me in a dream. Literally.

The images I saw were of a man alone in a terrain of sand. His body was covered in the sand, almost as if he was one with the landscape. This was an image I could not shake from my mind and I had to set out to create it.

As I worked toward the creation of the photograph, the image I saw had me thinking about the art historical trope of Venus. Venus is a trope that has been used to link women’s bodies and sexuality to nature. I have always had problems with the trope of the Venus for many reasons, one of them its reliance on an assumed heterosexual worldview. 

In this image, I aimed to engage with the art historical trope of Venus, but by queering the usual ways we approach classical tropes.

To create this photograph I chose to use a 4×5 film camera, because not only does it have a link to the origins of photography, but it also fosters a more intimate process of creation between artist and subject. This intimacy is reflected in the resulting image, as it seems the last two existing humans are the subject and the viewer.

The creation of this image taught me that sometimes when you follow a mysterious dream you can learn more about yourself, the art form you love, and how you see the world.