Jeremy Underwood, a student at the University of Houston's School of Art, has won Lens Culture's Student Photography Award for 2013, with work from his Human Debris portfolio.
Underwood builds sculptures out of debris he collects in the waterways of Houston, then photographs them with the waterways as a backdrop.
Lens Culture says that "Jeremy Underwood's work embodies our complicated relationship with nature and the contemporary landscape. His photographs focus on the tension between nature and culture, shaping these physical spaces."
Underwood describes his work as "a commentary on what humans leave in the natural landscape.
"The project spotlights the environmental condition of Houston’s waterways through the building of site-specific sculptures assembled out of harvested debris collected from the beach.
"Each found material lends itself to a new creation, encompassing the former life of the debris into each sculpture. These objects are simply artifacts to support the work, photographed in interaction with the landscape, then left to be discovered.
"This work challenges viewers to reflect upon our consumer culture, the relationship we have with our environment, and the pervasiveness of pollution."
Underwood's images -- and the process he follows to create them -- redeem, at least to a degree, the conditions and behaviors he documents.
Good to see he is getting this kind of affirmation for his work.
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