NEW AMERICAN LANDSCAPES

In the series NEW AMERICAN LANDSCAPES Ruiter photographs constructions he makes himself from plastic knickknacks bought in American $0.99 Shops, against the background of desert landscapes around Nevada. The effect is disconcerting: it is as if the vegetation in this spot, as colourful as it is monstrous, had grown there naturally. The plastic utensils, termed “archaeological finds of the future” by Ruiter, are mass-produced, examples of the unrestrained prosperity that makes living more comfortable and at the same time threatens life itself because of the environmental pollution that goes with it. The sharp contrast between these objects and the background in the photographs speaks of the conflict between culture and nature.