Critical Review of Michael Hanna: Between Imagination and Visual Depth

 

written by Carmelita Brunetti, Editor in Chief of ArtonWorld: International Magazine of Art & Finance

 

The visual and conceptual work of artist Michael Hanna stands out for its rare ability to transform observation into poetry—and poetry into image. His creations—meditative assemblages and photographs taken at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta and the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga—unfold as true inner journeys. They are far more than simple documents of aquatic life; they are visionary translations where matter, light, and words interact in a lyrical and conceptual unity.  Each photograph is accompanied by verses that do not merely illustrate but evoke. Hanna doesn’t describe what he sees—he deciphers and reinvents it. Paraphrasing Jules Verne, one could say his images don’t just dive twenty thousand leagues under the sea—they plunge into twenty thousand emotions within the imagination. His underwater world—filtered through the curved glass walls of the aquariums—is a mental ecosystem, a synaptic landscape that stimulates the brain's regions tied to wonder and empathy.

 

The Power of Aquatic Imagination

 

Choosing the underwater environment as his subject is anything but arbitrary. Water is the primordial element—the cradle of life and a reflection of the subconscious. Hanna captures jellyfish, sharks, stingrays, schools of fish, and the fluid dance of seaweed as if they were characters in a silent story. In this subaquatic realm, time slows down, and each detail—a fin, a glimmer, a shadow—gains symbolic weight. The assemblages that accompany or emerge from these photographs act like imaginary reliquaries: collections of materials, fragments, and thoughts that amplify the visual message. Hanna works with both natural and man-made elements, often found or salvaged, evoking the tension between the organic and the constructed, between the real and the dreamed.

 

A Dialogue with Other Aquatic Artists

 

Within the contemporary art landscape, Michael Hanna engages in a rich dialogue with other creators who have explored the aesthetics of the aquatic world. Think of David Doubilet’s underwater photography for National Geographic, celebrated for its scientific precision and natural beauty. Or Hiroshi Sugimoto, whose images of dioramas and seascapes are metaphysical reflections on time and perception.  However, unlike these artists, Hanna doesn’t stop at documentary or formal exploration. His approach is deeply conceptual—almost synesthetic. His images don’t stand alone; they are infused with texts, literary references, and intuitions that take shape in artistic form. Hanna’s sea is one of the mind and spirit, more than the lens. This is where the true power of his work lies: in showing how art can still move us, surprise us, and—most of all—inspire thought.