“Almost-Spiral”, Wood-chips, June x, 2022

For this project we were tasked with creating Land Art, a genre in which physical artworks are created with materials from the earth, made directly in nature. The concept I chose was to create a semi-organic structure from man-manipulated organic materials. I used wood-chips from a patch of trees in my neighborhood to create a semi-organic shape, a misshapen spiral. This structure conveys the idea that the natural things in our world are often manipulated by man, manicured and relocated, and are no longer truly organic, the world around us being a blend of the synthetic and the natural. If I wanted to experience the true part of nature I’d have to drive to a designated spot for it, which I think is interesting to think about. I enjoy playing with themes of “organic” and “synthetic” in art.

Here is a pencil sketch of the form, plus some additional viewpoints of the piece.