En Plein Air
Karhu’s
En Plein Air, translates to "in the open air”. Taking her daily walk, Karhu finds the most significant change from season to season to be the colors of the trees’ leaves. She says that her feelings and thoughts color up the view, affecting the atmosphere around her and playing a role in how she interprets her surroundings – Her and nature "are in everlasting dialogue.” Instead of opaque layering, Karhu uses a collage technique to make her composite images; she purposefully does not hide any of the layers, rather, selectively chooses the parts she thinks will enhance the final image. The way she "paints” with light gives a similar visual appearance to brush strokes. As one gets closer, it resembles less of a painting and more of a photograph, as, one can see all the minute photographic details. The final result of her unique process is a timeless vision of nature. She says: "Before I compressed time, now I collect fragments of it.”