New alt_space exhibition in July June 12 2024
ALEXANDER DIAZ:
Beneath the Surface
On Exhibit: July 6 - August 17, 2024
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 6, 4-7 PM
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Alexander Diaz uses photography to share concerns and commentary on environmental issues and the particulars of place. His trepidation over habitat destruction, overdevelopment, and the conformity of the Florida landscape has led him to explore some of the remaining natural spaces where people can still escape into nature’s splendor. This series, titled “Beneath the Surface,” is a result of this exploration.
While Diaz is saddened by the way Florida has changed over the years, he is reassured by the fact that there are still fragments of paradise that remain. Diaz recounts, “Not far from gated communities, strip malls, and tourist traps, are crystal clear waters that spew from underground caves to create springs of immense beauty. These timeless fountains of water provide a reprieve from civilization and the visual consequences of modern development.”
Through this series, Diaz not only showcases the beauty of this natural environment, he also includes human interactions with this space, presented from a unique vantage point. He elaborates, “The springs can be chaotic on the surface with people splashing and screaming, but they are starkly different underwater. Sounds are muffled, movement is slowed, and humanity seems to be in sync with nature below the surface. Submerging oneself in these springs is to enter another world and to escape reality. People seem to be magically gliding through space, and life poetically unfolds for all to see; it's quite a spectacle.”
About the Artist:
Alexander Diaz is an Associate Professor of Photography at the University of North Florida. Diaz’s artwork is a marriage of documentary photography and conceptual art. He utilizes photography to express his concerns and to comment on environmental issues, consumerism, religion, and the particulars of place. His work has been exhibited at many institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art/Jacksonville, Norton Museum of Art, and Mobile Museum of Art. This is his second alt_space exhibition at Arts on Douglas.