This April, Linfield Art Gallery is presenting in collaboration with Chachalu Museum and Cultural Center, “Connect to the Land” by Leland Butler. This exhibition includes a series of landscape photos hung up in pairs that create a duality between light and dark. The images include photos shot from around the Oregon area, with most being completely absent of humans or man-made structures. The exhibition is Butler’s first solo installation, and he was excited and nervous to share his work on his own.
Throughout his artist talk, Butler discussed his process as well as his influences. Butler opened up about his struggles with depression and anxiety and his realization that self-medication was making things worse and not better. He has found that photography can be centering for himself and has helped him to be more attuned with his emotions. When going about his photography pairings he wanted to imbue his emotional struggle into the pieces. Each pair would include a cool tone photo, that was often eerie and conveyed the loneliness and anxiety he experienced. He would then pair it with a photo that consisted of warm tones that showed the beauty of the landscapes he had photographed. These photos expressed relief and refuge from the darker parts of life.
While the photos have an immediate visual contrast in colors, the warm photos are not devoid of shadows, and the cold ones are not devoid of light. Within the photos Butler found ways for the framing of the objects and the light, in each pair, to help create the visual connections between the photos. He also felt this was important because it helped to express the idea that life is not just one thing.
Throughout the gallery, there is only one piece that includes human silhouettes. When asked about this inclusion, he said that it was intentional and that he felt the figure represented himself during his darkest times.
The exhibition shows a lot of the emotional turmoil that Butler has experienced, but it also conveys the ability to coexist with them and nature.
“Connect to the Land” will be on exhibit in the Linfield Art Gallery from now until May 3, and is open weekdays for anyone to access.