BLUE TREES 2005 / 2006

Melbourne, Australia

Blue Trees is an afforestation art action, an avenue of trees coloured blue, a total immersion, the trees becoming identified by colour.

Colour is a powerful stimulant, a means of altering perception and defining space and time. The fact that blue is a colour that is not naturally identified with trees suggests to the viewer that something unusual, something out of the ordinary has happened.

In nature colour is used both as a defensive mechanism, a means of protection and as a mechanism to attract. blue trees attempts to waken a similar mechanism or response from viewers. It is within this context that the blue denotes sacredness, something reverential.

The avenue of blue trees creates a ‘cathedral’ with the upper branches appearing like a vaulted roof over the viewer. The coolness and hue of the colour a surreal environmental experience, a pause for the viewer, not unlike entering a place of worship - a primordial sacred space.

Blue Trees is an ephemeral work, reverting back to its original state over time. An afforestation art action set within an urban context - it is the response of cities such as Melbourne to issues relating to deforestation that in the end will determine the sustainability of this resource, both locally and globally.