LOCATIONS:
berlin brandenburg germany, provence -alpes-cote – d’azur france, mata atlantica brazil, mojave desert joshua tree national park southern california, himalayan foothills, uttarakhand india, redwood forest northern california
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Trees.
Spiritual entities revered in ancient mythology, essential ecological factor, and innocent victims of mankind’s destructive activities.
Patricia Parinejad shows detached images of symbolically significant woodlands. The initial perception of the trees’ majestic force, the impression of peaceful dignity and everlasting beauty is abruptly disrupted by the harsh realization of their vulnerability and dependency on the surrounding ecology.
The digital processing of the images further creates an evocative, mystical atmosphere, a poignant sense of connectivity with Nature and her creation. The beholder is drawn into a strange, even dangerous world in which gnarled tree-spirits equipped with magical powers warn against imminent disaster – and accuse.
It is mankind that stands accused of no less than genocide against the world’s trees – collateral damage caused by our wanton exploitation of the planet’s most vital resources.
The witnesses: every image represents a different tree species from different parts of the world reflecting the global character of the issue. The Joshua palm tree of the Mojave desert, the Shorea robusta of the Himalayan foothills and some strange species of the brazilian rainforest, to mention just a few.
What marks Parinejad’s work is a unique atmospheric intensity of expression. Shadowy fragments of patterns, structures and textures are interposed digitally. These can be understood as a commemoration of absence, as a symbol of lost spiritualism and to illustrate the process of decline and destruction.
The observer understands the testimony in an intensely emotional way and is prompted to pass judgement.