Through the forest for the trees

Through the Forest for the Trees, 2013
Canvas tarp, metal grommets, thread, three-strand manila rope
Dimensions variable

Installed in Whitemud Park, Edmonton AB as part of a temporary public art exhibition Ramble in the Bramble by the Edmonton Arts Council.

Constructed out of an industrial canvas tarp and with its forms inspired by Gothic architectural elements Through the Forest for the Trees examines the area where linear time and constructed space collide. To this end, it engages with the sense of sight and how we look, the limits of perception,  and our attempt to reflect an architectural element that itself aimed to reflect nature.  The viewer’s vertiginous position is central to both the formal and conceptual explorations of this piece.  The arches harken to an attempt to defy gravity yet are pulled down by their own weight suggesting our contemporary wariness towards the gesture of the triumphant arch.  The panels are installed in a natural environment that itself is constructed to be viewed and experienced in a particular manner.  As such, theories regarding the garden posit that even a simple woodland path is more of a cultural artifact than a natural one. Reflecting the colour and forms of the trees the panels move between obvious visibility and disguise. Situated above eye level Through the Forest for the Trees creates a temporary way station to explore our fascination with the above through the soaring quality of the arches and the trees