Second Nature, by Jordana Bungard

Nature no longer requires someone to step outside to experience it in one way or another. The Internet has invaded the boundaries of nature with cameras. With it, I am able to view the outside world from the inside of my home. To meet and talk with people, while remaining physically alone. The internet has taken down boundaries, but at the same time enclosed its users in a false sense of adventure and exploration. It was only a matter of time before nature became a part of the technological world and its unrelenting, ever-broadening scope. The Internet has helped to create and facilitate a “second nature”.

Just like a cage at the zoo, the glass case reveals and confines what it holds. The video reveals natural behaviors of animals in their habitats through web-cam footage, but confines the viewer to the glitchy technological world. It is enough to capture the interest and entrance the viewer and that is the power that technology holds over us. To know that these creatures exist in this recorded space is all the viewer needs and all that is offered. Unlike the traditional, idealized presentation of animals, these images can only be taken at face value. There is no narration or explanation. The viewer does not get what they want; they simply accept what they are given. Instead, the viewer makes their own assumptions about the creatures on the other side of the lens. It is all simply meant for viewer consumption and interpretation.