Filmed in various locations throughout New Jersey, Garden State explores the diverse landscapes in which wildlife, development, farming, and industry coexist in the most densely packed state in the union. Thematically concerned with utopian/dystopian ideas about modernist ‘progress’, the static camera lens observes New Jersey without judgement in order to allow the viewer to draw connections between the visual poetics of the landscape and the overwhelming legacy of human intervention. Kevin T. Allen’s sound design-- a heightened soundtrack of organically sourced hums and drones -- lures the viewer into a hypnotic and meditative experience while sonically announcing the presence of the human figure in the landscape. Garden State both encourages us to slow down, take a long lingering look at our surroundings, and to find wonder, beauty, ruin, and awe in the most unlikely of places.
