Painted Desert
In her series
Painted Desert, Hänninen travels through Joshua Tree National Park, Monument Valley, and Saguaro National Park in Arizona, deliberately choosing locations most affected by drought. Through her documentation of these natural surroundings, she reflects on our relationship with landscape and nature. Her process begins with black-and-white photographs that vividly capture the stark impacts of change on desert landscapes. As one of the environments most sensitive to the ever-changing climate, volatile fluctuations place desert life in danger of extinction, with rising temperatures and droughts posing increasing threats. By staining the prints and intervening with paint, Hänninen transforms the original images, creating a deeply personal response to these vanishing landscapes. Her painterly interventions breathe life and color back into the drought-stricken deserts, restoring what has been lost and symbolizing the fragility of these endangered environments as human presence encroaches upon them.