Aleksey Kondratyev

Aleksey Kondratyev was born in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and currently lives and works in Detroit, Michigan. He received his BFA from Wayne State University in 2014. Aleksey is the co-editor and founder of Stand, a photographic journal showcasing the work and thoughts of various contemporary photographers from all areas of the world. Today we take a look at his series, Fabricated Adventures.

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Fabricated Adventures

Eighteenth century romantic painting provided a new perspective of the natural world through its depiction of the sublime. Distant and dangerous landscapes were tamed and brought into the proximity of safety — inspiring fear, but only fictitiously through representation. The sublime allowed for an escape from the ordinary and mundane. In the same way, this idea is present in in modern time, in the form recreational spaces which emulate a natural environments. Remote landscapes and environments are domesticated and romanticized through fabrication. Waterfalls, beaches, and forests all become representations of an idealized landscape far removed from reality.

As we live in our present environments, our experience is determined and limited by our time in history, climate, and physical geographies. The recreational spaces in this body of work provide a temporary escape from these limitations and from the reality of one’s present physical and geological surroundings.

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To view more of Aleksey’s work please visit his website.