Is This Real?
Cath Simard
Is This Real? examines the unstable boundary between documentation and invention in contemporary landscape photography. Through digitally constructed composites, Cath Simard invites viewers to consider how truth in art is shaped not by factual accuracy, but by emotional resonance and memory.
The works presented here are not spontaneous captures. Each begins with a physically demanding process: multi-day solo expeditions, mountaineering ascents, and extended periods spent hiking and camping in remote wilderness. From these journeys, Simard collects dozens of photographic fragments: variations in light, weather, and perspective which she later weaves into singular, cohesive images.
While grounded in actual locations, these landscapes remain deliberately ambiguous. They suggest a dual terrain, external and internal, where observation gives way to interpretation. In doing so, Simard reframes the role of the photographer: not as passive observer, but as architect of perception.