Reverting is a visual research through materiality on the commodification of nature in the context of the tourist industry in Iceland. Developed in Reykjavík during the SIM artist-in-residence programme. Gentrification, waste and environmental degradation are some of the problems related to tourism, challenging the idealised image of the Icelandic landscape. During his stay, Francisco Gonzales Camacho photographed highly visited natural locations, which he reinterpreted in combination with the creation of his own handmade recycled paper from waste. This exploration mirrors the transformative process of manifesting something from the void — a form of alchemy of waste — with the delicate equilibrium of our environment, and the perpetual cycle it follows.

Francisco Gonzalez Camacho (b. 1990) is a Spanish visual artist based in Helsinki. He is currently studying a Masters’ degree in Photography at Aalto University. Gonzalez Camacho’s multidisciplinary approach ranges from photography, graphic printing methods and handmade artist’s books. His practice is a result of intuitive exploration centered around themes such as family, immigration and the connectedness between landscape and self. He has been exhibited internationally and featured in publications such as Der Greif, Booooooom and GUP magazine among others. He was awarded a photobook award by Booooooom back in 2022 and selected as a finalist for the Carte Blanche students by Paris Photo in 2023.