Abstractions of Space

For over 30 years, Toshio Shibata has traveled across Japan and the United States, producing a body of photographs showing the extent to which humans have shaped the surrounding world. The images mix landscape painting with documentary realism, thus moving beyond mere physical description. Indeed, Shibata's work is not solely about the environment; he does not want to simply shame us for destroying nature. Rather, he aims to show the awe-inspiring extent of our creative (and destructive) powers, allowing the viewer to draw his or her own conclusions about the impact humanity has had on the world. —Alexander Strecker