This installation, by Japanese artist Shinji Turner-Yamamoto, is incredibly powerful. A hanging tree, with its roots sprawled out, is seen hanging in mid-air inside an abandoned church in Cincinnati. Turner-Yamamoto chose the decrepit church because he liked the marks of decay carved into the architecture by time and nature. “Hanging Garden” is part of Turner-Yamamoto’s larger Global Tree Project, which encourages community participation in the creation of each sculpture. Local volunteers help artists locate and transport a chosen tree for their installation and then participate in its re-planting when the exhibition ends. “I saw a large, uprooted oak in a park,” said Turner-Yamamoto. “It laid as if sleeping on the hill. Its leaves were still very green. A few days later, when I returned, the tree was gone, leaving a mound of earth in it’s place. I envisioned a new tree growing on this mound. “Like a tree in the forest surrounded by other trees and plants, these trees are given singular sculptural presence. By taking a tree out of it’s natural context, I invite viewers to experience nature in a normal, more contemplative way.”
Shinji Turner-Yamamoto Global Tree Project via [inhabitat], [good]