Dreams of a Forgotten Future invites viewers to step into a liminal world where reality and imagination blur, offering a haunting yet mesmerizing exploration of humanity’s relationship with the Earth. At the heart of this series lies Payes’ yearning to comprehend our position within a changing and unpredictable world. These photographs are not just visual records but portals to an ethereal dimension—one where the familiar landscapes of Papua New Guinea or New Zealand dissolve into surreal, mythical terrains. In Payes’ vision, reality transforms into spectral echoes, simultaneously grounded in harsh environmental truths and infused with the enigmatic beauty of otherworldly phenomena. The mist in these images is suffocating yet alluring, pulling us deeper into its shadowy depths with a promise of revelation. This mist feels alive, as if whispering of Acheron—the river of woe in ancient mythology—guiding us into realms of awe and trepidation. The images feel like fragments of a forgotten dream, imprinted with the emotional weight of what lies beyond the visible world. Payes walks the boundary between waking life and the somnambulistic, capturing scenes that are more painterly than photographic. Her work moves beyond documentation, transforming literal landscapes into emotive mythscapes. The churning skies and spectral hues evoke a world suspended between the living and the imagined—a realm of beauty and disquiet. These are places where human existence feels small, almost spectral, against the vastness and mystery of the natural world. Through Dreams of a Forgotten Future, Payes reveals more than environmental extremes; she delves into the voids and connections that define our existence. Her work prompts us to reflect on what it means to inhabit a world at once familiar and alien, to confront our fears of the unknown, and to consider the impact of our presence on an Earth that is both our cradle and our uncertainty. This series is an invitation—not just to observe, but to feel, to question and to understand our evolving relationship with the environment. Payes challenges us to navigate this sombre yet luminous dreamscape, urging us to recognize both the fragility and the resilience of the world we call home.