April 2025 | Borrowed Landscapes | "Distorted Nostalgia" Group Exhibition at Site Santa Fe
Two pieces from my “Borrowed Landscapes” project series will by on view as part of the Young Curators program at Site Santa Fe.
Opening Friday, April 4th from 5-7pm, artist will be present.
About the series:
“In January 2017, in response to the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, I began Borrowed Landscapes, a series exploring shifting perspectives in an evolving America. Climate change, economic instability, and social division are reshaping our collective future. To navigate this transformation, we must embrace impermanence and reexamine our past through a new lens. Using landscape—our most universal visual reference—I investigate changing viewpoints and modes of communication.
Images of America’s monuments, cities, and landscapes serve as markers of national identity. Postcards from the early to mid-20th century, depicting scenic highways and towering buildings, tell a story of America that no longer exists. By altering these familiar images, this series encourages viewers to reassess long-held beliefs and assumptions. The use of literal screens over American landmarks symbolizes the ways in which inherited ideas can obscure reality.
I manipulate original vintage postcards, painting precise grids of dots to unify and obscure the images simultaneously. This process distills colors and abstracts details, requiring the observer to both focus and reinterpret what they see. The material itself—aged, worn, and historically rich—creates a tangible connection to an everyday archive often overlooked or discarded. Postcards, once personal and ephemeral, now serve as historical anchors in an era detached from its past.
As marvels of the past become mundane and monuments shrink within expanding cityscapes, we confront the reality that landscapes—both physical and cultural—are constantly in flux. Recognizing this impermanence is crucial to our shared future.”
Nina Tichava