Around the Nature of Things and images

Abstract

This article seeks to analyze representations of nature present in the photobook Nature of Things, by Pedro Motta, based on the reading of the poem On the Nature of Things - De rerum natura, by Tito Lucrécio. This examination argues that, when constructing his description of the nature of things through an Epicurian-based philosophical-scientific treatise, the Roman poet explores both the ways in which truth should be expressed, and truth as a theme in itself. In turn, the six photographic series analyzed from Motta's photobook, reveal an ambiguous game between reality and fiction, which is fundamental to insert these pieces in the field of contemporary aesthetics, at the same time as they demonstrate the ethical concern that permeates the artist's work. Through a careful analysis of these two homonymous pieces, this article reflects upon today's devastating process of exploitation, commodification, and deterioration of nature.