Emily Hamilton Laux Guest-Edits Lenscratch Botanical Week, Showcasing Biodiversity Projects
Emily Hamilton Laux served as the guest editor for Lenscratch's inaugural Botanical Week, where her botanical photography was featured alongside that of other artists. Laux's artistic journey commenced in 2014, influenced by Thoreau's essay "Walking," leading her to create floral displays in antique sauerkraut jars. Her series, "Beauty Versus Beauty," showcases plants in jars, while "Home Invasions" tackles the issue of 'plant blindness' through installations of invasive species within domestic settings. Laux's artwork emphasizes the urgent concerns of biodiversity loss, food security, and species extinction. Originally from Saigon and having lived in various countries, she holds an MA from American University and a BA from Tulane. Currently, she is working on a project involving vintage botanical guides and operates a studio in Norwalk, CT.
Key facts
- Emily Hamilton Laux was guest editor for Lenscratch's first Botanical Week.
- Laux's botanical photography practice began accidentally in 2014 during a project inspired by Henry David Thoreau's essay Walking.
- Her series Beauty Versus Beauty features plants isolated in jars of water, first created in Maine using vintage sauerkraut jars.
- Home Invasions stages temporary installations of invasive plants in domestic interiors to address 'plant blindness.'
- Laux's work addresses botanical biodiversity loss, which threatens food and medicinal security and accelerates species extinction.
- Her handmade book Field Notes is in its second edition and pairs Beauty Versus Beauty images with foraged landscapes.
- Laux has exhibited at the Westport Library, New Britain Museum of Art, Griffin Museum of Photography, Beechwood Arts Salon, and Terrain (Westport), among others.
- She maintains a studio at Firing Circuits Studios in Norwalk and is a member of the Westport Artists Collective.
- Laux was born in Saigon and raised in Cambodia, Paris, and Washington; she holds an MA from American University and a BA from Tulane University.
- Botanical photography dates back over 175 years to Anna Atkins' cyanotypes of algae.
Entities
Artists
- Emily Hamilton Laux
- Anna Atkins
- Karl Blossfeldt
- Imogen Cunningham
- Georgia O'Keeffe
- Irving Penn
- Robert Mapplethorpe
- Sharon Core
- Cig Harvey
- Tanya Marcuse
- Mary Mattingly
- Abelardo Morell
- Isabelle Menin
- Henry David Thoreau
- Martha Stewart
Institutions
- Lenscratch
- Westport Library
- New Britain Museum of Art
- Griffin Museum of Photography
- Beechwood Arts Salon
- Terrain (Westport)
- PhotoPlace Gallery
- Rhode Island Center for the Photographic Arts
- Davis Orton Gallery
- Westport Arts Center
- Ridgefield Artists Guild
- Firing Circuits Studios
- Westport Artists Collective
- American University School of International Service
- Tulane University
Locations
- Maine
- United States
- Westport
- Connecticut
- Norwalk
- Saigon
- Vietnam
- Cambodia
- Paris
- France
- Washington
- New York
- London
- United Kingdom
- Hong Kong