Drew Nikonowicz's work investigates the role of the 21st century explorer by combining computer modeling with analogue photographic processes. Drawing upon the language of 19th Century survey images, he questions their relationship with current methods of record making.
Thousands of explorable realities exist through rover and probe based imagery, virtual role-playing, and video game software. Within the contemporary wilderness, robots have replaced photographers as mediators producing images completely dislocated from human experience. This suggests that now the sublime landscape is only accessible through the boundaries of technology.
Drew Nikonowicz (born in St. Louis Missouri, 1993) earned a BFA degree from the University of Missouri - Columbia in 2016. His work employs analog photographic processes as well as computer simulations to deal with exploration and experience in contemporary culture. He has exhibited both nationally and internationally. In 2015, he received the Aperture Portfolio Prize and the Lenscratch Student Prize. In 2017, Nikonowicz completed a one-year residency at Fabrica Research Centre. Drew was named one of PDN's 30 Photographers to Watch in 2019. He now lives and works in the United States in Saint Louis, Missouri as an artist and owner of the company Standard Cameras.
Released April 2019
Photographs by Drew Nikonowicz
Essay by Paula Kupfer
Design & co-published by Hans Gremmen/Fw:Books
Softcover, 11.5 x 8.5 inches
102 pages
Edition of 800
ISBN: 978-1-949608-03-8
Signed by the artist
