Robby
Toles

2017 W/SW Juried Exhibition Application Portfolio

My photographs examine the relationship between people and place through the state, perception, and use of the landscape. In "The Guided Tour," I investigate the barrier between the defined route and taking an independent path. By exploring the Irish landscape beyond the postcard vistas along the coast, I question the perceived value of exotic views in the landscape. In this series, I partake in the 2,500 km Wild Atlantic Way tourist route along the western coast of Ireland. Looking at the promoted landscape marketed for tourism and sight-seeing, the project includes the fourteen main points they advertise as well as my trip between each of them. I'm interested in the experience the guided route provides as it simultaneously embraces the landscape and limits the viewer from beyond.