The Sierra – Aaron Rothman

‘The Sierra’ revisits the Sierra Nevada mountains through the context of todays climate crisis, a landscape that has long shaped American ideas of wilderness. Aaron Rothman (US) seeks to evoke the physical experience of being in the mountains while registering the environmental changes reshaping the region. His personal connection to the region is marked by a growing sense of dread and loss as signs of climate change become increasingly visible. Drawing inspiration from historical landscape painters, Rothman prompts reflection on how traditional representations have shaped our perception of wilderness, and how idealising it as pristine may have contributed to its present vulnerability.