“Manifest Destiny” was a phrase, and a concept, coined in the USA in 1845, during the presidency of James K. Polk (1845-1849). It encompassed the notion that Americans were divinely ordained: part of a political and religious doctrine to expand towards the west, profiting from the so-called “plentiful emptiness” of the land. This territorial belief justified the forced removal of native communities, intensified racial tensions, and, ultimately, became kindling for the Civil War. Maciek Jasik’s (b. 1978) series, The World With Us, explores humanity’s yearning, once again, some 200 years later, for empty spaces – a form of escape from the urbanised, homogenised, lands of our own creation. These images, which overlay hyper-real colour palettes onto spliced rock formations from Oregon, Arizona and Utah, draw attention to the irony of this desire, and the ways in which we have altered landscapes beyond our own recognition. maciekjasik.com.

Image Credits:
1. Maciek Jasik, The Dalles, Oregon (2017). Courtesy of the artist.
2. Maciek Jasik, White Pocket, Arizona (2019) from the series The World with Us. Courtesy of the artist.
3. Maciek Jasik, White Pocket, Arizona (2019) from the series The World with Us. Courtesy of the artist.
4. Maciek Jasik, White Pocket, Arizona (2019) from the series The World with Us. Courtesy of the artist.
5. Maciek Jasik, Toadstool Hoodoos, Utah (2019) from the series The World with Us. Courtesy of the artist.
6. Maciek Jasik, White Pocket, Arizona (2019) from the series The World with Us. Courtesy of the artist.
7. Maciek Jasik, Snow Canyon, Utah (2019) from the series The World with Us. Courtesy of the artist.
8. Maciek Jasik, White House Spring, Utah (2019) from the series The World with Us. Courtesy of the artist.
9. Maciek Jasik, White Pocket, Arizona (2019) from the series The World with Us. Courtesy of the artist.