Humans | Nature explores the subtle humor of humankind’s relentless attempts to transform the natural earth for personal and commercial gain.

My photographs do not depict scenes of devastation; I am not an environmentalist. The destructive effects of oil spills and climate change are already well-documented. Instead, I make landscape-style photographs that portray less dramatic conflicts, revealed through a subtle struggle between natural and human elements.

In Oregon, a garishly decorated “For Lease” sign has been firmly cemented into the soil of a fertile field; in the arid desert of Arizona, makeshift wooden braces have been affixed to the bases of mighty saguaro cacti and quarantined by a steel cage, for reasons that remain unknown. In southern Illinois, a meadow of conifer trees has been annexed and reduced to a paltry patch by a seldom-used asphalt parking lot.

Bio
Jeff Phillips is a Chicago-based photographic artist who has been passionate about photography for more than 30 years. He is committed to the Chicago photography community and helps produce the week-long Filter Photo Festival in Chicago each year.

His photographs are exhibited nationally and published internationally through a variety of media channels including books, newspapers, and magazines.

Phillips has presented and lectured about his work at SXSW 2014, Society of Photographic Educators (SPE) and other venues including Pecha Kucha in Chicago and at Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis.

Phillips is the creator of Lost and Found: The Search for Harry and Edna (harryandedna.com), a social media and photography experiment that became a traveling exhibition and subsequently received international media attention for its content and production.

For more information, please contact Jeff Phillips at: jeff@jeffphillips.me or visit: jeffphillips.me Interview with Jeff Phillips here