Katja Novitskova is interested in the way we humans employ visual technology to get to grips with ourselves and our natural surroundings. Images serve as input for research and for gaining knowledge of our living environment and of places that are difficult, if not impossible, for humans to access.

For her Earthware series, Novitskova studied data from wildlife cameras. These cameras are placed in remote natural areas for scientific research purposes, to analyse the local flora and fauna. Before an algorithm can process the photographs, humans first have to teach it to recognise and sort patterns in the images. Novitskova helped with the indexing, discovering visually attractive examples among the automated images. They show the world in an intimate, mystical way, reflecting the relationship between the camera, the animal, and the observer, whether human or non-human. Novitskova selected several images and transferred these onto epoxy clay, a reference to the clay tablets used to map the world in prehistoric times.

With her work, she also raises questions about the far-reaching possibilities of technology. Isn’t capturing nature in this way an expression of the human desire for power and domination? Even when we are carrying out research with the best intentions, such as protecting animal species? Novitskova’s work challenges us to think about the ethical implications of our technological and scientific practices and how these influence the way in which we see and understand the world.

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