As the saying goes, memories tell no lies; we do remember that which is most relevant more fondly.  

Artists Lori Nix and Kathleen Gerber have collaborated on dioramas and miniatures for over sixteen years, excelling at transforming their ideas into little kingdoms, using cardboard, foam and glue to create specific and very photogenic faux worlds. Once completed, they play a significant role in videos and advertisements. Occasionally more complicated pieces of artwork need at least six months of production (meaning that sometimes the duo can only create two sets in a year). Not surprisingly, after the completion of production filming, they become the subjects for the duo’s fine art photography series and are then destroyed, leaving nothing but the artistic images of their precious constructs to remember them by.

The latest Nix + Gerber series, ‘Empire’ will exhibit from March 2 to April 28 at the Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago. Through ‘Empire’, they prophesize a future when climate change has reshaped the world, and nature has regained its power to rule over everything. It might sound slightly pessimistic, but in the world we are living in now, one wouldn’t notice what Nix + Gerber try to convey if not for their disturbing photographs.