In the work of Jan Pohribny we witness the landscape itself being performed with powdered pigments and pyrotechnics. Like ancient people who would paint their hands and press them onto the walls of caves, Pohribny is using ritual to make a harmonious link between himself and his surroundings. He alters nature to claim it, to mark his territory, to say "I was here"-and uses photography to make a record of his interpretation of the place. He uses color-which is the language of our everyday experience-as if to say "this is now-this is possible." Most of us live in an abstract world; we live in climate-controlled houses, we do not grow or kill our own food, but Pohribny believes that there is a place for modern people in the landscape. Whether the site he chooses has historical or personal significance, when he does these rituals for himself, he does them for all of us. Website