In her artwork, Ann Mansolino explores the relationship between the internal self and external ideas of place through the creation of handmade books that combine photography, writing, and bookbinding. She is interested in exploring the ways in which the landscape and natural environment can help us understand ourselves – as metaphors for our emotions and psychology, as well as expressions of our more literal relationship to nature and the larger world we inhabit. Through the combination of image, text, and experimental binding techniques in her book projects, she calls attention to landforms themselves, the need for preservation and conservation, and the ways that the landscape reflects internal experience. By taking the time to closely observe, record, and reflect upon the features of the natural world – from icebergs to glaciers to prairies to mountains to deserts – Ann believes we can learn to see ourselves and the land as components of a larger whole, to gain a greater understanding of ourselves, and to respect and preserve the world we are a part of.
