What we see is a fantasy determined by desire the past and present. In her mixed-media art, Emily Wisniewski addresses the current climate crisis in the U.S. while building an ironic critique of the Western landscape canon of painting and the lineage of renaissance painting. She respects and mocks art history. She critiques the semiotics of the sign by framing the images. Thus, the frame becomes a portal which connects art history to contemporary times by breaking beyond the canvas’ space. The recycled materials she integrates into her work accentuate her pointed irony. With found materials, ashe, and oil paint, she imagines stories inspired by the USA's natural landscape and our uneasy relationship to it. She augments the struggle with strange colors, unnatural and natural materials, such as coal, gold and dirt, and expressive brushstroke. Some things are painted realistically, yet she says, “I falter when I come to question my concept of nature.” At these points of questioning, her stroke and color become distorted and leave room for wilder interpretation. She wonders ultimately if our landscape in the USA is wilderness or just plain wild.