earth reeds sticks string fungi, 2014
RBG Ontario, Canada
Within the RBG Arboratum, at the fringe of the Dogwood and Redbud Collection, beside the Lilac Dell on a relatively steep slope, beautifully shaded from the sun by the embracing canopy of a fully flowering Dogwood tree, I built my earth art. An ideal site for growing fungi – nature’s greatest recycler.
Directly on the earth, a new dimension to my kinetic ‘living’ sculpture series was to evolve. All my previous kinetic works incorporated stone with recycled wood – this one was to use only reeds, sticks and string – to be returned to earth over time by fungi.
Consequently, in comparison to my other kinetic works, it will be a fast mover. The full sequence of its artistic evolution will perhaps be only seven years instead of twenty or thirty.
Sympodial growth (putting it simply, this is a zig zag pattern of growth) of the nearby (and somewhat threatened) Sassafras tree inspired the structure and life/evolution of the piece.
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