Samantha Burns

My practice involves the use of photography and processes like mark-making and printmaking to produce digital collages using Photoshop. Memories of places that have caused a sense of comfort, joy, and any other positive feelings is the inspiration for my artwork, and I want to bring that experience to viewers by creating a safe space through these images to evoke these same emotions. I also have an interest in photographing pathways: staircases, synthetic or natural pathways, footpaths, and country roads. These bring a feeling of wonder and curiosity about what lies beyond, while simultaneously taking one on a tour through the natural environment. Pathways connect us to nature more than it seems as we humans rely on pathways inside our body to survive. That connection, between human and nature, is something I want to explore in my work as this relationship is important in so many ways and beneficial to things like mental health. Although nature is my primary influence, I also combine it with industrial settings and urban environments, as the differences suggest the built environment, and cumulative effect of human presence. While industrial settings are the opposite of quiet, I try to find pockets of calm within this environment, community gardens for example. Industrial and natural surroundings becoming one in these spaces indicate that the presence of nature in loud, fast paced environments is essential to allow us to take time to disconnect from that part of life.