Louisiana Lightsey – “Nature in Place”

Louisiana Lightsey - Nature In Place

What happens to human-nature relations when we self-isolate in our houses? How might video remind us that we continue to be interconnected with the organic environment, even in quarantine? Using only an iPhone, this video montage explores how the pandemic has redefined what it means to connect with the natural world. While sheltering-in-place would seem to limit our interaction with nature, I have found the opposite to be true. Quarantining has increased my awareness of the mesh of colors, textures, shapes, and sounds which animate indoor spaces, cross thresholds, and surround our houses, reminding us that we can never truly be in self-isolation. Through sharing this project with the community, I hope others will also reflect on how being housebound might deepen our sense of place and retrain our perceptions of the natural world.

Louisiana Lightsey is a PhD student in the Environmental Anthropology program at UGA. Her dissertation research explores indigenous relations to the natural landscape in the Ecuadorian Amazon and utilizes visual methods such as video ethnography and digital storytelling.

[Louisiana Lightsey Flagpole interview]