Natural Synthetics features paintings, installations, and video by the Washington DC-based artist Ryan Hackett. Intrigued by a common desire to find solace in feigned natural environments, Hackett manipulates the forms, colors, and sounds of the natural world into highly immersive experiences. He "samples" auditory and visual elements, repeating and manipulating the sound or image to create a hybrid composition, much like an electronic musician. In one of Hackett’s works, lung-like forms emit the serene sounds of a forest along with a "fresh air" scent, just as layered paintings diffuse photographs of animals and machines, questioning the dichotomy of artifice and nature.