Photography as a Design Research Tool into Natureculture

Abstract

We use photography as a research method to cultivate a designerly sensibility of the theoretical concept natureculture, a provocation to transgress the dichotomy of nature and culture. We investigate the visual language of natureculture through an iterative practice of creating, editing, organizing, and reflecting on images. Specifically, we explore natureculture as spatiotemporal movements, sediment-like layers, heterogeneous gatherings, formal homonyms, emotional experiences, and aestheticized expressions of style. Each of these has a materioformal concreteness and symbolic density that supports design ideation on topics such as environmental sustainability, agroecological systems, human-animal cohabitation, urban informatics, and more.