Skin of the Earth
We human beings exist in a thin physical layer of this planet. We live a hundred or so feet above and below the surface of the earth (more in some cities, less in most places- though not in most places that there are a lot of people). This is the skin of the earth, the threshold between the earth and the sky. It is a diverse space; a lot happens here. For us, people, nearly everything happens here. Though our actions reach down deep into the earth and infiltrate the atmosphere as well, this is where we live.
Trees live here too: their trunks connect them to the earth and expose them to light. They are barbells, their leaves spreading out in the air and their roots spreading out in the dirt. Our own respiratory, circulatory and digestive systems run parallel with one another throughout our bodies. Trees are organized differently.
This project addresses this layer of space, close to the ground, where we live and where we have reshaped the landscape to our uses and our delights. We plant trees our allow them to survive in order to remind us of nature. Their physicality- the feeling that they stand just so, and that their roots extend beyond our site - speak to desires to both cultivate and control nature.
all images © Leo Hsu