Emily Hamilton Laux

I grew up in a family of two distinct worlds; my mother surrounded me with painting, art history and the decorative arts. My father, a New England outdoorsman, bequeathed a love of nature– the wilder, the better.

My art-making is driven by a life-long reverence for nature and my conviction that events in the natural world can be a metaphor for what is happening—or about to happen—in society. I am equally fascinated by the domestic environments we humans create to nurture ourselves, our families, and our dreams.

Using photography and installation, I examine individual and collective relationships to both natural and domestic environments. My images are a push-pull of documentation and staged presentation. Part-anthropologist, scientist and set-designer, I am most excited about new ideas and connections concerning how people experience their environments, and what that means for their own psyches, and their relationships with their families, friends and larger communities.

(photo credit: Aline Smithson)