II.
Deep-seated connections to the world around us can be described in terms of biophilia, the idea that humans are primed to value themselves as part of larger biological realities. Coined by biologist E. O. Wilson, biophilia would recognize certain landscapes as universal constants in cultures worldwide. Among them are places overlooking the savanna, woodlands, and, tellingly for Hathaway’s enterprise, places where water is found.6
Beyond the necessity of obtaining food, water, and shelter, researchers verify that natural landscapes are good for the soul, likely resulting from an innate need for the calm required for emotional well-being, recovery from fatigue, stress relief, and, perhaps, creative problem-solving. And even unspectacular natural environments can work the magic of medicine for healthy individuals, as well as those in convalescence, leading, for surgery patients, to lower numbers of days of inpatient postoperative care, fewer negative evaluative comments in nurses’ reports, and lower prescription rates for painkillers. Time spent in this Eden, then, is a restorative salve for Hathaway’s subjects, impacting everything from heart rate to brain activity to immune system responses.7
The ritual of returning to these places may also faintly echo migratory patterns whereby kin groups moved with the seasons, and over longer time horizons as well, making their way back to traditional sites. Just as our ancestors tracked their food, the examples of hunting and fishing that we see in Hathaway’s photographs speak to sustenance from the forest, an aspect reaffirmed in the many images of families and friends preparing and consuming food. The demeanor of the visitors in repose and reverie foregrounds these as nurturing landscapes.8