Robert Pereira Hind’s mixed media series ‘Out of Eden’ is a combination of his skills as a photographer and artist. Pereira Hind photographs nature in situ, then digitally isolates flora and fauna in the studio, combining them to create both realistic and fantastic landscapes. He makes his work by printing photographic ink pigments onto gilded wooden backgrounds. Once the print is dry, each piece is coated in shellac and then glazed.
An important element of the work is that over time each piece will slowly oxidise and mature. While the pictures live on a wall, their golden backgrounds will very slowly over many years mature into evermore atmospheric and characterful works. Each piece brings colour and light to the environment and ambient light reflecting from the pieces exudes warmth.
Robert Pereira Hind lives in Edinburgh but regularly ventures into the mountains, in Scotland and beyond. He is constantly on the lookout for trees and wildflowers that are visually striking. ‘I’ll wait for a day with light cloud and head out with my camera. When I get back to my computer I remove all trace of context and experiment with various compositions and layouts to montage trees or flowers into one image, or sometimes focus on details. I am both responding to the beauty of nature and questioning the nature of beauty. As someone who does not adhere to any kind of religious practice but regularly feels a sense of awe within the natural landscape, it seems fitting to transform nature’s trees and flowers into secular icons.’
