Organized Nature: Part 1

“Organized Nature” is the third in my series this semester on the systematization of nature. I had some serious “artist’s block” before creating this project – being a conceptual artist has its shortcomings.

This project examines the interior organizing qualities of nature as expressed through manmade means. I’ve recently become quite interested in the organizational structure of leaves and have discovered that they are as elaborate as the interior of most computers.

After exploring many different ideas surrounding the combination of computer hardware and leaves, I had the idea to insert one into the other. I began with finding a diverse set of leaves with distinct shapes so as to not lose the natural element in removing their interior. I scanned and enlarged them, and after a lot of photoshopping (cue montage here) I added scanned motherboards I found online.

The message here deals with the proliferation of modern computing, data and technology in our lives. I toyed with the notion of technology having influenced us so profoundly that it has now integrated itself into naturally occurring processes. The computer components are shown intentionally at a slightly different orientation to that of the leaf in order to assert dominance over nature (read: the leaf is at the mercy of the chip). I always attempt to make light of a serious topic, so I find this to be a bit comedic in nature. Interpret as you will.

I’m happy with the outcome, especially given my drought of ideas prior to the production of this project. I’m pleasantly surprised that computer parts are quite aesthetically pleasing in this context, and vaguely resemble the organization of a leaf. I used one “iconic” Canadian maple leaf (top left) and I believe this is the most successful of the set. They were a fun series to create and I look forward to finalizing this series in the next set of prints I will make in the coming weeks.