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ULTIMA III by Nick Pedersen

ULTIMA III by Nick Pedersen

Marianne Piano
February 19, 2016
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ULTIMA III is part of a series of projects inspired by love and care for nature. It aims to send across a message of commitment to preserve the environment for the future generation. To let mankind be aware of the outcome if we continue to disregard the importance of conservation. Let's help our artist with this cause. Read on and enjoy!

All of my artwork is primarily inspired by my experience with nature. My newest work ‘Ultima’ is deeply rooted in environmentalism, showing my concern for the future by depicting the modern conflict between the natural world and the man-made world. I portray this as an epic struggle and in my work these forces clash in theatrical, post-apocalyptic battlegrounds. This body of work examines humanity’s role during our time on this planet and questions the legacy that we will be handing down to the next generations. With this project my main goal is to reveal a glimpse into this hypothetical world, and give viewers a space in which to contemplate the future of our planet.

- Nick Pedersen

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This is actually the final part of my 3-part “Ultima” series, which I have been working on over the past three years, and the entire body of work was just recently published in my new artist book.

- Nick Pedersen

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My main inspiration for this project came from seeing the incredible jungle-covered ruins of Angkor Wat when I was in Cambodia. Being surrounded by these ancient structures of a lost kingdom that have been completely reclaimed by the natural environment was a very powerful experience. I grew specifically interested in what our own cities might look like after being abandoned for thousands of years. Through my images I was inspired to create juxtapositions between the ruins of modern civilization and a futuristic ecological utopia. The narrative progression of the work shows a rediscovery of these remnants belonging to the conceivably forgotten past.

- Nick Pedersen

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My process starts with a lot of researching and conceptualizing ideas to work with. All of my artwork is created using my own photography, so the next step is to photograph everything I need for the project. For my recent work I have actually traveled all over the US and to a few different countries, including the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado and the amazing desert landscapes of Utah and Arizona, to get the right imagery. Then, I spend a great amount of time using a complex process of digital compositing in Adobe Photoshop to create a seamless montage for each image. Finally, I make large-scale fine art print editions of the work for gallery exhibitions using a large format Epson 9900 printer.

- Nick Pedersen

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“Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it.” This famous quote by Bertolt Brecht has always stuck with me, because it shows how art can be used to raise important questions and influence social change.

- Nick Pedersen

ABOUT NICK PEDERSEN

Nick Pedersen is a Photographer and Illustrator from Salt Lake City. He holds a BFA Degree in Photography, as well as an MFA Degree in Digital Imaging from Pratt Institute in New York. He has shown artwork in galleries across the country and internationally, recently including the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Paradigm Gallery, and Art Basel Miami. He has published two artist books featuring his long-term personal projects Sumeru and Ultima. His work has been featured in numerous publications such as After Capture, Beautiful Decay, Juxtapoz, Hi-Fructose, and Empty Kingdom. In the past few years he also has completed Artist Residencies at the Banff Center in Alberta, Canada and the Gullkistan Residency in Iceland.

See more of his amazing artworks in Behance and his website.

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