WANDERING THROUGH TREES
Robert Pope Foundation
Curated by Doug Pope & Sue LeBlanc
Opening Sunday, September 6 | 1–3 pm
Wandering through Trees is an exploration of trees, highlighting their great variety, patterns of growth, adaptability and usefulness to people and animals. This art exhibition has a biological emphasis, treated in documentary.-style photos and in imaginative sculptures. Many of our trees are common, yet each species is unique in its design and special features.
This exhibition is a spin-off of a larger show that toured art galleries in Chester and Annapolis Royal and the Ross Farm Museum. The present iteration features a sampling of Doug Pope’s photos of trees, ceramic sculptures by Deborah Kuzyk and Sue LeBlanc, as well as fabric works by Elise Campbell. The photos are information based. The ceramic and fabric sculptures are fun and fantastical, stretching beyond the theme of trees to include animals and fungi, the partners and inhabitants of forests. The forest, as a whole, is a symbol of hope, health and coexistence.
The photos have four themes:
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Diversity. To demonstrate a diversity of species, key features of local trees are shown: leaves, cones, flowers, fruit, as well as the shape, form and colour of trees at different stages of growth.
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Reproductive strategies. Flowers can appear as clustered catkins, cup-like blossoms, or spike-like panicles or candles. Seeds are time capsules promoting future generations. Flowers and fruit invite the involvement of other creatures in a tree’s dispersal and renewal.
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Shared spaces. It’s hard to find a human space that doesn’t have a tree in it. And vice versa, when we search out trees, even in a wilderness, there’s often a sign that someone has been there before us.
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Personal elements. The photographer includes his family and friends, their interests and travels, and the province in which he lives, in the story of trees.
As we wander through trees, it is hoped that viewers will draw parallels with their own biological natures and appreciate the need to nurture and secure environments conducive to healthy growth and dynamic coexistence.
THE ROBERT POPE FOUNDATION is a Nova Scotia-based charity that supports projects related to art, health and the environment.
