Organized Nature: Part 2

This is the second set of prints in my series “Organized Nature.” The series is based on the idea of systematizing nature as expressed through leaves. The first half of the series can be found here. The series began in the United Kingdom as an ideological examination of urban planning and the human interaction with nature – check out its humble beginnings here.

This iteration of the project is a departure from my consistent use of digital print media as a means of expressing the systematization of nature. The notion of printing directly onto leaves has been a common theme of my critiques. As most of my ideas do, this one came late in the process and completely changed how I was originally going to execute the project.

The pages come from an old book called “The Wizard Children of Finn” – not a joke: find it here. I chose this book because the adventurous narrative married nicely with complex journey traveled by bits of data through a microchip. The same pattern is printed on the leaf and arranged to form a continuation of the pattern on the paper, or vice versa. The notion of printing on the leaf and paper simultaneously interested me. Once again, the leaf is the focal point of the project (likely for the last time) but I chose to include the physical leaf for the first time. It is pinned intentionally away from the paper like a fragile butterfly pinned for display. A narrative of struggle plays out in my head when thinking about this leaf, as if it would flutter like a butterfly but now has been pinned down to be examined for its beauty. The age of the book adds to the age of the leaf, while the modern printed pattern is a reminder that both pieces have been altered after their initial creation. The entire piece is affixed to a white board designed to sanitize the leaf and the page.

I’m thrilled with the outcome of this project. For me, it brings alive images of Japanese shoji screens as well as Mondrian’s geometric paintings. It’s a strong departure from my previous highly digital work. I deeply enjoyed creating these simple yet visually elaborate pieces. I believe the series has come to a natural end (pun intended) but I plan to continue to explore man versus nature in different contexts in the future.