Jardines de México

In her spare images of unpeopled landscapes, photographer Janelle Lynch (born 1969) explores themes of death, regeneration and preservation. Los Jardines de Mexico unites four series of photographs taken between 2002 and 2007, three from Mexico City and one from Chiapas. In the series Akna, Lynch focuses on tree stumps on the El Huitepec forest; covered with epiphytes such as ferns, mosses and orchids, the dead trunks act as a nurturing source for other life. Locating these quiet dramas of the everyday, in Donde Andaba, the artist photographed the wild plants that grow around Mexico City´s urban architecture, investigating the persistence of life against inhospitable conditions. Simultaneously celebratory and sad, the photographs embrace loss as a necessary facilitator of growth. The publication includes an essay by Deborah Klochko, Director of San Diego´s Museum of Photographic Arts