Michael Vahrenwald's Winter Landscapes

Michael Vahrenwald's series Winter Landscapes examines doctor prescribed depression therapy light boxes. The discourse between psychology and light, with specific emphasis on the effects that light exerts over our psyches, is treated with clever indifference. On the one hand, Vahrenwald subjects these objects to a clinical, deadpan examination, while on the other light is explored as a metaphor for transcendence. This paradox between the material and the metaphysical gives the images from Winter Landscapes an interesting duality. As Vahrenwald states:

"The images explore the nature and function of pictures. Visiting some of the issues in my previous work these images expand upon romantic ideas of the relationship between the self and the landscape, or in this instance a medicinised, surrogate landscape. The title of "Winter Landscapes" refers to a series of paintings by Casper David Freideich in which the same transcendent scene is repeated throughout several paintings."











From Top To Bottom:

Sun Touch, 2006

Sunlight Jr, 2006

Uplift Daylight, 2006

Color Cube, 2006

Blue Max, 2006

All Images © Michael Vahrenwald