Philip Kanwischer Creates Surrealist Artworks To Show The Complex Relationship Between Wildlife And Humans

“My name is Philip Kanwischer, I’ve been working on “Inhospitably Ours” project for the past 5 years. This work thrives under the assumptions formed by the cursory glance. On the surface, much of my work appears to be wildlife photography of animals interaction with humans as if I have captured the fantastical. I strive to create an eerie atmosphere, begging the questions how did he make the animals do that? and, how could he do that to them? I am interested in habitat loss, environmental ethics, human impact in both urban and natural realms. Working in deliberate realism I plan to reveal our existential trauma.

I graduated from the Alberta College of Art and Design with a Bachelors of Design with distinction in photography in 2015. I was also the recipient of the Board of Governors Award for my graduating class. Since then have been pursuing my art and exhibiting Internationally. A pivotal point in my recent art career was when I took part in the Canadian Wilderness Artist’s Residency. This expedition was a month long canoe trip up the Yukon River from Whitehorse to Dawson City. This furthered my connection and love for nature and fuelled my practice as relating to environmental impact and remote areas of wilderness.

I have been accepted to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, where I am currently in my first year of graduate studies. Often combining photographic and sculptural components to dramatize human impact on the natural environment, my work proposes unlikely narratives in which the genre and methods of wildlife photography are implicated. I often spend days out in the wild, working to build a relationship with the land and its inhabitants, enacting the romantic notion of being able to live side by side with animals and nature.”

More info: Philip Kanwischer (h/t: boredpanda)