Ryan Nabulsi

This gallery represents a selection of images from M. Ryan Nabulsi’s series, La Boue. The series explores the limitations of digital photography and human perception by documenting nature through abstract images. The series grew from a contemplative and meditative walk taken in a small wetland park. Over the years and many trips, I noticed the dramatic change in the wetland due to the weather. Heavy rains would flood the area giving life to diverse flora; on the other hand, during a drought the water would dry up only leaving the muddy swamp bed. As the landscape changed through the seasons, I began to relate the changes to perceptions of photography. Periods of rapid technological advancement followed by experimentation by artists or practitioners. And sometimes, a dry spell, where stagnation and lack of creativity reign. Furthermore, Villem Flusser’s ideas about the camera apparatus were knocking around in my head. Was it possible to make images outside of the program of the apparatus? I attempted to use only the apparatus to subvert itself by creating imagery that became wholly reliant to the referent but also dependent on the viewer’s perception. By obscuring the horizon, creating a flat plane and using the boardwalk as a frame, I wanted to capture compositions that were reminiscent of abstract paintings that allowed the viewer to play with interpretation. This selection is a small grouping of images that show the dramatic changes that this particular landscape undertook over the course of time.