"Italy has some of the most beautiful natural beaches in Europe, so I find it fascinating that so many holidaymakers choose to go to places like the one in this photograph: a strange manufactured island with plastic palm trees. This image is from a series, Leisure Time, that was important to me. I started it at a time when I had lots of personal problems, in 2006 and 2007. I needed to do something that would change my vision, my way of seeing the world,"
"Many people want to go on holiday to a place where they know exactly what to expect, and are never going to be surprised or discover anything by chance. Many will also flock to sites they have seen other people post pictures of on Instagram often distorting the reality of that location. They will take their pictures without taking the time to engage with the place."
"And today, even when tourists do visit a natural attraction, such as a mountain in the Alps, they expect to find something good to eat there, with music, and a high level of service. They want the same things we have in a city. But that isn't the essence of mountains, which we should really visit to find refuge, calm and connection with the natural world."
Mass tourism favors manufactured, predictable leisure environments—artificial beaches, holiday parks, amusement parks and cruises—over authentic natural landscapes. Holidaymakers often choose curated settings where expectations are fixed and surprises are avoided. Social media amplifies this pattern as visitors reproduce images seen on Instagram, frequently distorting location realities and photographing without genuine engagement. Even visits to mountains are reshaped by demands for food, music and high service levels, turning natural refuges into city-like experiences. Research and photographic work in holiday parks around the Tre Cime di Lavaredo and aboard cruise ships documented these behaviors and the tension between curated leisure and nature.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]