This is the last week for The Chicago Project IV exhibition [it ends on Friday, September 2], so get in here and see the show! In the meantime, enjoy two images by Chicago Project artist, Dan Bradica, along with his artist statement. If you’d like to learn more about his work, visit the show page and click on the film clapper next to his images.

 My work involves disrupting the appearance of the natural environment to explore its relationship with artifice, control, and classification. I create photographs of temporary sculptures made from synthetic materials in managed forest preserves. Each sculptural form takes a shape complementary to its surroundings appearing in contrast to a depiction of the landscape that acknowledges the maintenance and control of civic land.

This project is a result of a personal desire for an idyllic wilderness within reach of my Midwestern home. With this work, I explore contained and illusive spaces that are shaped by their geographic location, yet appear separated from their immediate surroundings. This work attempts to examine our perceptions and interpretations of nature, further investigating our place within the ecosystem.

—Dan Bradica