Robert & Shana ParkeHarrison

Robert (b. 1968, Fort Leonard Wood, USA) and Shana ParkeHarrison (b. 1964, Tulsa, USA) produce deliberately artificial photographs with a great narrative density in a sepia tone which is reminiscent of the early days of photography. Viewing their works may spontaneously remind us of Georges Méliès’s film Le Voyage dans la lune (1902), made almost 100 years earlier, although Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison have transformed its visionary optimism into occasionally apocalyptic metaphors. In their photographs a human being (representing ‘humankind’) is always shown attempting to tame the forces of nature in the midst of lifeless, dust-dry expanses. The dreamlike, amusing and highly detailed scenes are imbued with the ecological scepticism of the post-industrial era. At the same time, the two artists’ photographs open up poetic insights into their own, strange world.