Nitroglyphs
In his series Running in Circles, Jongeleen runs extreme distances in a circular path, gradually wearing down the ground beneath him. These physical and meditative actions are captured with a drone, resulting in serene images of a solitary performance. The locations where he runs play a crucial role: they are often “guilty landscapes” or sites imbued with layered meanings.(1) The triptych Nitroglyphs marks the culmination of this series. Here, Jongeleen runs on the Veluwe, a Dutch nature reserve, where strange patterns in the landscape become visible. These traces, only perceptible from the air, reveal the dramatic state of the terrain. They are the result of interventions by Staatsbosbeheer (the Dutch Forestry Commission) in an effort to save biodiversity from the harmful effects of nitrogen. Large swaths of nature are plowed, creating the peculiar marks Jongeleen documents. Through this triptych, he captures the radical transformations the natural world undergoes due to human intervention and the impacts of climate change.