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In my work I distinguish forms that are indicative of growth and explore the variance between experiences of an authentic natural encounter
vs. an inauthentic encounter. I look for the ways in which nature can be brought back into the course of one’s daily life. I am intrigued by
areas where manicured nature is being reclaimed by the wild. With my installations I engage viewers with the experience of a space being
overtaken by natural elements. I bring discarded particles from forestry floor together to be revivified in my constructions.
In the series entitled “Boundsticks” I investigate the association of a material to its point of origin and how its individual identity can be
strengthened when removed from its natural habitat. For each installation I consider the site of collection for each branch or stick and how
it will relate to the whole of the installation. With a varied site collection process, I immerse myself deep into wooded areas and forestry
points, engaging with the habitat that has been created by nature. Each unit of the installation is given importance with a reference back to
its origin; a color marking denotes the area of collection. In gathering fallen branches and sticks from trees, it is important that in this
process, I do not cut the limbs, my selection is made from branches and sticks that are found fallen from their parent tree.
vs. an inauthentic encounter. I look for the ways in which nature can be brought back into the course of one’s daily life. I am intrigued by
areas where manicured nature is being reclaimed by the wild. With my installations I engage viewers with the experience of a space being
overtaken by natural elements. I bring discarded particles from forestry floor together to be revivified in my constructions.
In the series entitled “Boundsticks” I investigate the association of a material to its point of origin and how its individual identity can be
strengthened when removed from its natural habitat. For each installation I consider the site of collection for each branch or stick and how
it will relate to the whole of the installation. With a varied site collection process, I immerse myself deep into wooded areas and forestry
points, engaging with the habitat that has been created by nature. Each unit of the installation is given importance with a reference back to
its origin; a color marking denotes the area of collection. In gathering fallen branches and sticks from trees, it is important that in this
process, I do not cut the limbs, my selection is made from branches and sticks that are found fallen from their parent tree.
| Tree Canopy from “Outgrowth of Nature” Exhibition at Art 101 |
| •Out of the Woods: Boundsticks Installation |
| “Fallen Trunk” Drawing |
| “Out of the Woods” Installation, Solo Exhibition at galerie OPEN |
| The materials for this installation were collected from the Grunewald forest, one of the largest green areas in city of Berlin, the units were each individually marked from their respective collection sites and installed at galerie OPEN in the urban center of Berlin |
| Through an interwoven and entangled binding system, I reactivate these fallen branches and limbs, detouring them from the natural course of decay that would occur in that environment. As independent units, their structural importance dissolves; they become disconnected, discarded from an active whole. These sticks as units of a living tree create a growth pattern that is determined by how they will service the needs of the tree as a whole, when they are removed from this system of growth they enter a larger system where they are of lesser immediate importance. Through my intervention, the branches are dislocated from their position in this larger system; their decay is delayed as their identity is redefined within the context of a new structure. The structure of the installations I create consider the architecture of its surroundings, specific to each site, being determined by the physical limits of the space. These pieces are created to mimic growth forms similar to those of vines, but unlike vines, the installations are created in a closed circuit, with no beginning and end. |
| “Out of the Woods” Installation, galerie OPEN, Berlin, Germany |
| “Boundsticks Installation,” Govenor’s Island NY |
| Boundsticks Installation at Betty Cuningham gallery |
| “Traveling Landscapes” Installation at Art 101 |
| With the series entitled “Traveling Landscapes”, vignettes of nature are encapsulated within steamer trunks and train cases aged through travel. Displaced elements indicative of natural landscapes are presented in partially opened cases, as to not fully expose the delicateness of what is contained within. Streams and rivers activate the scenes as they course through the landscapes contained within the cases. The illusion of life and growth, illuminated within, reflects the desire to capture a part of nature untouched by humans. Used as a mediation device between the lush pastoral scenes contained within and the harsh actuality of their physical surroundings, the trunks and cases elicit visions of travel, preciousness and possession. Materials that are commonly defined as natural and artificial are combined in the creation of these works, isolating aspects that are indicative of the ‘natural’ (while sometimes are considered unnatural). The landscapes created are transformative in their illusion of a nature scene; they are contained in traveling cases to magnify the displacement of a seemingly natural landscape in an unusual framework. These pieces extenuate the desire for ‘untouched’ natural environments, and the claim and proprietorship that are placed on plots of land, which carries over to water rights. |
| The origin site of collection for my recent installations is the Grunewald forest, one of the largest forests in Berlin. Unlike the culture of the U.S. where the need for living spaces often overtake the need for green spaces in urban locals, the city of Berlin protected the land and forest from aggressive settlement plans in the early 1900’s. With these installations I champion the preservation of forestry areas, and as urban sprawl attacks countrysides, I aim to communicate the importance to retain some areas as natural reservations. Without this consideration, our communities will loose their ability to commune with authentic nature and the precious areas of growth will be transformed into artificial recreations that mimic true growth. |
| “Traveling Landscape” (maroon case) |
| “Traveling Landscape” (green case) |
| “Traveling Landscape” (medium black case) |
| “Traveling Landscape” (long black case |
| “Grunewald” |
| Art 101 Presents Kathleen Vance Traveling Landscapes |