Nick Brandt, *River of People with Elephants In Day,* 2019, archival pigment print. Courtesy of the Baty Collection. *This Empty World.* Organized by Curatorial Exhibitions. Generously supported by Stanley L. Baty and Kristine Baty.

Written by: Federica Barrios Carbonell

The world pictured in the photographs by renowned artist Nick Brandt is one of the present, the future, and the past. He recasts into a series of singular images that transport us to an outer-worldly atmosphere. His striking photography alludes to a post-apocalyptic world in which man and animals coexist in the ruins of what once was. His dystopian representations of society are unfortunately not far from reality. While he creates exaggerated scenes, his chosen topics affect our everyday lives whether we realize it or not.

Charcoal Burning with Giraffe and Worker (2019) depicts a majestic giraffe amid a harsh, commercially fueled environment. While this scene could have been the beautiful animal’s natural habitat of the past, it has now been polluted by burning fossil fuels. The river water flows dark with the filth and contamination from the discouraged worker, forced to dedicate their working lives to the need of a capitalist world. The overall aura of the image is unequivocally morose and heart-breaking when closely examined. A scene so ominous it is almost prophetic, so outside of the general western public’s understanding because we merely reap the benefits of the destruction of the “3rd world’s” environments, communities, and ecosystems.

Nick Brandt, *Charcoal Burning with Giraffe and Worker,* 2019, archival pigment print. Courtesy of the Baty Collection. *This Empty World.* Organized by Curatorial Exhibitions. Generously supported by Stanley L. Baty and Kristine Baty.

In the foreground of “Construction Trench with Young Elephant and Workers” (2019), two workers stand with contemplating looks on each of their faces. Both the subjects and the rest of the laborers hard at work in the background wear overalls that have been dirtied and overused from their hard labor. In the mid-ground of the image, a young elephant camouflages with the wall of soil that separates the workers in the foreground from the rest of their peers. One can’t help but feel sorry for the young, distressed animal. An animal that we picture running in the savannah with its heart, yet there it stands, tragically and helplessly grazing against the construction zone. After giving the image more thought, it becomes clear that workers may not be much more fortunate than the young animal. Their habitats are also becoming polluted by their own hands, threading Brandt’s work together with a common motif. The interactions between humans and animals exist in the territories that were once their home but were destroyed for the convenience of excessive commodification for capitalist societies.

These, and many more imposing curations of life unfamiliar to the general occidental public, put our place in the world and these manifestations of hellish realities into perspective. The media does not advertise where our products come from or the strenuous conditions in which the workers behind our consumer trends are forced to work in. We are in a detrimental cycle of alienation and Nick Brandt’s staggering work is eye-opening.

Nick Brandt, *Bridge Construction with Elephants and Workers At Night*, 2019, archival pigment print. Courtesy of the Baty Collection. *This Empty World.* Organized by Curatorial Exhibitions. Generously supported by Stanley L. Baty and Kristine Baty.

Nick Brandt: This Empty World exhibition will be on display at the Museum of Photographic Arts within Balboa Park at 1649 El Prado in San Diego, California from May 8th to October 22nd, 2022.