A.O.N.B. (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) 1982 - 1984

Editor: Keith Arnatt's photograph, "A.O.N.B.", shows a trailer filled with what looks like refuse, juxtaposed against a picturesque landscape. What's striking is how the discarded materials contrast with the implied natural beauty. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a commentary on the manufactured idea of "natural beauty." Arnatt highlights the labor and discarded materials inherent in maintaining this idealized landscape. Consider the physical act of collecting, bagging, and transporting refuse; it's a crucial, often invisible, part of the process. Editor: So, the focus is less on the landscape itself, and more on the work it takes to make it look "beautiful"? Curator: Precisely. The materiality of the refuse bags, their presence alongside the road, points to the ongoing cycle of consumption and waste that underpins our appreciation of nature. What is considered visually pleasing hides a system of labor and disposal. Editor: That's a perspective I hadn't considered. It definitely shifts how I see landscape photography. Curator: Indeed, it encourages us to question the constructed nature of beauty and acknowledge the material processes that shape our environment.