Pho­to­graph by Miska Draskoczy.

A new photography exhibit called “Gowanus Wild” is on display from October 10-November 16, 2014 at the Ground Floor Gallery in Brooklyn.

In the words of artist Miska Draskoczy,

Silence. A lack of humans. Light on textured abstraction. Chaotic forms unfolding all around you, creating a hypnosis of spirit that just might convince you there is a Creator after all. These are the qualities I think of when experiencing ‘wilderness’. And yet the same tingle runs down my spine while wandering the industrial streets of Gowanus, Brooklyn, at night.

I aim to turn concepts of nature photography on their head by finding the beautiful in what most consider to be a man-made environmental catastrophe. The Gowanus Canal is one of the most polluted waterways in the country and the neighborhood has seen continuous industrial use since the 19th century. My vision is to capture a marriage of opposites; the organic in the industrial, green within blacks and grays, stillness and peace in urban chaos.

As our urban communities grapple with how to connect with the primeval in a world that offers sterile potted plants as an outlet to nature, I see Gowanus Wild as an urban hiking manual, a continuation of generations of landscape photography, updated for our technological age. If only we adjust our perception of what is ‘nature’ and ‘wild’ around us, a fascinating wilderness can be found in the fringes of our decaying city where nature and chaos conspire to produce a new type of wild beauty.

On view: October 10-November 9, 2014.

REGULAR HOURS: Thursday: 12pm – 6pm, Friday: 12pm – 6pm, Saturday: 12pm – 6pm, Sunday: 11am – 5pm. And by appointment.

Artist-led Gowanus walking tour: Sunday, November 9, 5:00-7:00p.m. 

Ground Floor Gallery, 343 5th St. Park Slope, Brooklyn, www.groundfloorbk.com