In a talk titled Guns, Beauty and the Anthropocene: A Journey to the Dark Side of Modern Culture, Nelson offered a thought-provoking exploration into his three major books – Gun Nation, Love Me and The Anthropocene Illusion. Photos from the last work are currently on exhibit at Xposure.
His seminal work Gun Nation is a deeply introspective project that began in the 1990s and unravels the complexities of America's gun culture. “As a very young photojournalist trying to sort of understand what I was doing and understand the world and make sense of it all," Nelson explained, "that led to this project.”
Through captivating imagery and insightful commentary, Nelson shed light on the paradox of gun ownership in America, exploring themes of safety, identity and societal norms. Reflecting on his experiences documenting the lives of gun owners, Nelson remarked, “I was trying to draw the viewer into sort of not quite knowing, not exactly being comfortable with what they're looking at.”
While the book itself sparked controversy and got Nelson many death threats, his journey documenting America's gun culture has now spanned decades, driven by a desire to provoke dialogue and societal change.
Love Me is similarly a poignant exploration of the global beauty industry. Through compelling visuals and candid narratives, Nelson peeled back the layers of commercialisation and societal pressures driving the global obsession with youth and beauty. Nelson highlighted the global reach of Western beauty standards: from Tehran to Senegal, these standards have been packaged and sold worldwide, often leading to extreme measures such as plastic surgery and skin-lightening treatments.
Nelson also pointed out how marketing strategies have evolved. “Men are now being targeted in a way they never were before. For decades, women have been bombarded with messages from the beauty and fashion industries. But now, men are emerging as a whole new, big group of potential consumers,” he noted. “This evolution in societal norms has subtly influenced our perception of what's acceptable, pushing us towards a new standard without much resistance.”
Nelson underlined the talk with The Anthropocene Illusion, a project that exposes the artificiality of humanity’s relationship with nature amidst the Anthropocene era. From artificial trees in theme parks to farmed lions for trophy hunting, his works captured the paradoxical relationship between humanity's destruction of nature and its attempt to recreate it in controlled environments. “The paradox of seeking nature while destroying it is evident in artificial landscapes like zoos and theme parks. These illusions offer temporary solace but perpetuate the disconnect between humanity and nature,” Nelson concluded.
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