Falk Haberkorn

The forest, as an idea and place, is culturally loaded and the subject of deep-seated emotions, fears and fantasies, featuring as a central element in romantic literature as well as in contemporary debates about global warming and the preservation of the environment. In Schonung, Haberkorn presents the forest in a highly theatrical style by making a subtle intervention that consists of removing any fallen leaves or branches, and ‘tidying up’ the landscape. By controlling the space for the purposes of his photography, he interferes with the natural order of things in a way that exposes the deceptive power of artifice and the fantasies that so frequently accompany representations of nature.