And in the movement of the Sun,

                          I felt something.

Working from detailed descriptions of landscape photographs that have no reference to place or location, Mortenson mines images from online photographic search engines and constructs new images that merely reference the original descriptions. In doing this, the work seeks to present tangible artifacts based on the way our minds visualize images.

Through his practice, Mortenson investigates the cultural and historical perceptions of our reactions to a landscape that is heavily fabricated, yet still romantically sublime. His work seeks to challenge the notions we have about the landscape, which is informed, in part, by the use of landscape imagery. Through the history of the medium, these images have been used to confirm and acknowledge our place within the landscape, but also work to confirm the aura we attribute to it.

Chris Mortenson is a native of Sioux Falls, SD and now resides in Iowa City, IA. He earned a BFA in Art from the University of South Dakota and an MA and an MFA from The University of Iowa. He is currently teaching Photography and Digital Photography at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL. and at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, IA. At the end of July, he will be moving to Moorhead, MN as an Assistant Professor of Art at Concordia College.