Daniel Kukla is a New York based photographer not afraid of tackling environmental issues through his art, often challenging societal convention and human behaviours associated with the natural world. In the case of his ’Captive Landscapes’ collection, Daniel makes a series of visual statements out of artificial environments created in zoo animal enclosures for our viewing pleasure.

In this e-interview with Cohabitaire, Daniel provides an insight into his world of nature and science inspired art, and generously shares some of his brilliant photographs…

Hi Daniel and thanks for taking time out for Cohabitaire.
By way of introductions, tell us – what’s your story, what do you do?

I’m a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, currently residing in Brooklyn, New York where I work professionally as a photographer. I am a graduate of The International Center of Photography program in Documentary Photography and Photojournalism and prior to my photographic education I attended University of Toronto and received a B.Sc. Evolutionary Ecology and Biology.

Your Captive Landscapes project is so intriguing – can you explain a bit about it and how you came up with the concept?

I’ve long been fascinated by the educational and research mission of zoos, and yet equally frustrated. In my first series Lamina, I visited zoos to investigate the barrier between the audience and captive. This project brought me to the idea behind my Captive Landscape series and revealed the common practice of manufacturing theatrical environments for the enclosures and the all too familiar experience of expecting to see the inhabitant, but being confronted by a seemingly empty habitat. After spending more time with these environments I began to realize that the animals were clearly not comforted by murals of lush tropical forests or expansive cerulean skys, but that these landscapes are in fact for us, offering a colorful escape from the concrete and metal foundations.

Project Statement: Captive Landscapes

“We, as humans, go to great lengths to satisfy our desire for a connection with the natural world, especially in our interactions with wild and exotic animals. Zoos are the primary site for this relationship, but they often obscure the conflicts inherent in maintaining and displaying captive wild animals. In this series, I photographed the interiors of animal enclosures at 12 different zoos across the U.S and Europe. These images invite the viewer to question the role of these constructed habitats, and explore the motivations behind collecting, preserving, and controlling the natural world.”

Nature really seems to inspire your art, in what ways does it continue to influence you?

My artistic practice is informed by the joint intersection of my work as a photographer, and my formal training in the biological and anthropological sciences. I work at the juncture of these disciplines, focusing in on capturing images that have the power to articulate our ever-changing relationship with the natural world.

In both science and photography the act of collection is universal. Whether specimen or subject, the collection process allows one to categorize, control, and critically describe one’s findings, and contribute them to the collective work of others in the field. I find that this process allows me to engage my audience with contemporary social and environmental themes, ranging from the commonplace to the esoteric. As a calculated investigation, my projects document and bear witness to important social, political and ecological issues; through highlighting the beautiful and the bizarre, and retaining the precision and experimentation of the scientific perspective, I offer a vantage point on these subjects that can destabilize, challenge and provoke.

Complete this: I’ve never been so blown away by nature than when…..

I’ve had the great fortune to travel throughout the world and many of my most vivid memories were formed when the natural world made me feel small or insignificant in the grand scheme of things. A number of years ago I was hiking in the foothills of the Bolivian Andes. After a long morning of strenuous uphill climbing I reached the summit of a mountain which offered an incredible vantage over the steamy rainforests below. Sounds of the jungle resonated upward and rainclouds formed below me, rose to eye-level and drifted around me as they released their cargo onto the verdant landscape. Experiences like this constantly remind me how nature is not only a great beauty, but a powerful force.

Tell us about your most recent project…

I recently returned from a trip in southeast Alaska where I was investigating a unique geological occurrence. Rather than rising sea levels and diminishing coastlines, the land in southeast Alaska is rising out of the ocean at an accelerated rate. This phenomenon is known as post-glacial rebound or isostatic adjustment, and is a direct result of global warming. The region was once covered by vast glaciers and ice fields, which massively deformed and submerged the coastal landscape. As global temperatures rise, the weight of glacial ice is rapidly melting away, and previously buried land is bursting forth into view.

I’m in the process of creating a new body of work composed of photographs of the extant Alaskan landscape paired with photo-sculptural pieces representing the nascent landscapes to come (see image below).

The project serves as a reminder that the world often fails to conform to our polarized understanding of human-environmental interaction. As political battles rage over the possibility of coastal inundation, these pieces speak to the complexity of the natural world. The contrast of the potential topographies of the future with the natural landscapes of the present challenges the simplified arguments on both sides of the climate change debate. The pieces seek to expand the discourse, while grounding it in the concrete and complex reality of our Earth.

Alaskan landscape

What’s next for Daniel Kukla and where can people see your current exhibitions?

I have a number of things in the making, but I’m currently preparing for an upcoming trip to Hawaii to continue work on a long term project on invasive species – that Hawaii is ripe with. Aside from work I’m hoping for a lazy end of summer full of grilled corn and field tomatoes, city biking, and trips to the beach with good friends.

Check back on my website or follow me on twitter @danielkukla - to learn of my most recent projects, purchase artwork, or say hello.

All photography © Daniel Kukla

About Ingrid Schroder

A Sydney-side freelance graphic designer, photographer & yoga teacher - I find myself turning to nature for guaranteed revival from the crazy pace of city life - be it digging in my garden, capturing natural beauty through a lens, floating in the ocean, practicing yoga or out exploring this incredible planet we all call home. Follow me on twitter @Cohabitaire