Nature’s Canvas: Exploring Landscape Through Cyanotype Assemblage Art

The diverse manifestations of nature exhibit their own generative activities, intertwined with yet independent of human cultures. These challenges conventional narratives portraying nature as merely a passive resource for human use. Through an experiential methodology integrating field research and artistic practices, this interdisciplinary project aims to articulate nature's agentic voices. The field explorations enable first-hand experiential observations of the landscapes around Tai Lake in Suzhou, China. Cyanotype photography and assemblage techniques are then used to capture and reinterpret the environment’s traces through subjective aesthetic impressions. The resulting images reflect philosophical perspectives from Adorno, Benjamin, and Chinese Shanshui painting on unveiling nature’s affective essence through creative practices. This paper outlines the integrated process and presents preliminary artistic samples. It proposes that creative interdisciplinary research can move us beyond human-centred narratives toward more inclusive ecological co-creation and co-narration. Through artistic experimentation and open listening, the project facilitates deeper empathetic awareness of our embeddedness within lively, agentic nature.