Lantern Journal 
By Troy Payne & Charlie Vega
Radix, Latin for “roots,” examines the environmental conundrum from the level of human thought about the world, relying on the disruptive force of visual design and on the powerful change-agent that flows from exposing and uprooting poor human assumptions about nature that form the precepts of law and science and economics. Ultimately, Radix encourages us to (re)consider and (re)envision the way we think about and interact with the natural world, urging us to prune away the roots of our malconception of nature in favor of a more meaningful relationship with the land.
Troy Payne and Charlie Vega distill and refine spoken and visual elements of Black Lantern Synergy’s “lectumentary,” Cartesian Eco-FemDarkanism, into six distinct parts of a larger whole: the seeds of a 3,000 word essay have been planted and thoughtfully cultivated in the soil of our backcountry experiences. The resulting growth is meant to bring the observer beyond the realm of the eye into that of the senses engaged in wild nature. Like nature, Radix is interesting from both macro and micro perspectives and the pieces challenge viewers to engage the world deeply and in more reflective and humble ways.