Elise Rasmussen’s research-based practice has a longstanding interest in investigating the impact of landscape imagery upon creative and scientific practices, considering the complexities of her subject position as the descendent of white settlers and her use of lens-based media through a diaristic approach. Weaving together historical narratives alongside the artist’s first-hand experiences in the locales she is addressing in her work, her new project the beautiful will explore the role of photography in contributing to mythologies and ideologies surrounding notions of “the West.” Although the invention and use of the photographic medium has been instrumental to environmental protection, such as compelling legislators to protect natural lands and national parks, it has historically been detrimental in its promotion of destructive ideologies, continuing to have a negative toll on the environment. By looking at historical and cultural markers such as “Manifest Destiny,” Western genre films, the road trip, and contemporary social media culture, the beautiful will use the very medium it is critiquing to delve into the contested notion of “the West,” its intertwinement with colonialist, capitalist ideologies, and how depictions of the landscape are constantly evolving and are more prescient and problematic than ever in this moment of climate crisis.