Wilderness Porn.

Social media offers up some truly spectacular views of the world through the lenses of both amateur smartphone and professional SLR alike, documenting the world in which we live and the awesome power and timeless sculpting prowess of mother nature.

However, cropped from the mess of reality, these selective and seductive portrayals become more like works of art than photographic realism. And like all works of art, they are an interpretation of the world, in this case an idealized and subjective version, but not true of the world in whole. Strung together and reinforced over time by subtle and subconscious increments, they form a false narrative, albeit an unintended one, whose numbing effects may be counter-productive to addressing imminent environmental issues in a measurable way.

Douglas Baughman charts the path to where we are today, what are the driving forces and how ultimately if we can take this online appreciation and transpose it into more meaningful action, not only to preserve and protect our environment but also to restore what has been lost. In these days of visual perfection can other less attractive environmental needs still find a voice?