The Two Faces of Mother Nature with Chiara Zonca

This article contains image descriptions in the captions to help those with visual impairments.

Whilst nature is breathtakingly beautiful, it can also be dangerous and unstable. Chiara Zonca explores these two opposing elements of nature in her series It Devours, shot in New Zealand’s North Island. The juxtaposition of the immaculate beaches and mountains with the barren landscapes and signs of natural destruction challenge the viewers perception of beauty and danger in the natural world.

Zonca really captures the surreal and haunting beauty of this landscape. Showing somewhere that seems magical, unfamiliar and out of our reach. It Devours is both strikingly beautiful and dreamy, whilst tinged in danger and fear or the power and potency of nature. A place almost prehistoric in the modern world. In Zonca’s own words, “an unfamiliar environment hiding a dark, dangerous past that eventually draws you in with a mixture of reverence and utter fear.”

ID: A Mountain across a lake with red grass in foreground. Tree branches occupy the top of the image as we look out across the water.

Chiara Zonca, It Devours ID: A blurry image of orange vegetation mixed with green leaves and plants.

Chiara Zonca, It Devours ID: Tree's cover the image as we look out onto a blue still lake.

Chiara Zonca, It Devours ID: A mountain peaks above green reeds. The sun is casting its glow across the mountain.

Chiara Zonca, It Devours ID: A mountain top can be seen in the background with a cliff and rocks of another mountain is in the foreground.

Chiara Zonca, It Devours ID: A sunset looking out across the water from behind ferns and palm leaves.

Words: Sophie Turrell

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