Trees

The history of the single “tree as subject” in art dates back to the 19th century with W.H. Bartlett’s dramatic renderings of trees. Contemporary artists such as Rodney Graham, Geoffrey James, and Jeff Wall have explored this motif in photography. My series of tree photographs taken in the city of St. Catharines, Ontario continues the allure of the relationship between nature and humankind. On what was once entirely farmland, St. Catharines began its major development in the 1950’s adding more residential land five times that year. As baby boomers were drawn to the city, more and more farmland began to disappear. The city streets were carved through the orchards. In order to maintain the natural landscape, the trees were manicured to accommodate power lines. City employees are dispatched every spring to saw, hack and shape these trees into their new compositions. This act reveals the human manipulation within the trees negative spaces. The trees have been shaped so they do not interfere with the delivery of power and telecommunications to St. Catharines residents. After years of adopting these somewhat grotesque forms, the trees now grow in their manufactured state and can be found scattered throughout the suburban environment.