Launch Recite Me assistive technology
A person stands in a white studio, looking up as orange and brown slips of paper float in the air around them. Studio lights on tripods frame the scene from both sides.

Photography: Being told to "imagine you're a tree" never looked like so much fun

—
Date
30 July 2013

I never really went in for drama lessons at school, but something tells me that if it had been Mkgk and Raw Color telling me to “imagine you’re a tree” instead of Mrs Hawkswell in a fusty room at the back of the drama department, my thespian career might have spanned a little longer.

This project took place during Dutch Design Week as part of the international platform Make a Forest, and it plays on the fact that in the Netherlands trees typically reach only one tenth of the age that they could do before being removed according to ruthless landscaping plans. Mkgk and Raw Color subvert this transience, representing trees as a changing life form through multiple exposure photographs of people throwing various bits and bobs up in the air, creating an image which is, actually, very convincing. Failing that the video of how they’re made is super cool!

A person stands in a white room, their figure blurred and multiplied to create a sense of movement. Pink petals float in the air around them and gather on the floor at their feet.
Above

Temporary Trees: Cherry Tree

A person stands against a white wall, their figure blurred by a long exposure. They are draped in a large, translucent green fabric that swirls around their head and shoulders.
Above

Temporary Trees: Oak Tree

A person stands against a plain white wall, wearing a voluminous, sculptural garment made of translucent green and yellow material. The oversized piece obscures their upper body in a cloud of organic, flowing shapes.
Above

Temporary Trees: Platan

A blurred figure stands with arms raised, their form appearing as a ghostly multiple exposure. Above them, a dense, chaotic cloud of thin brown twigs and wires floats against a plain white background.
Above

Temporary Trees: Pollard Willow

A blurred figure stands against a white wall, surrounded by a cluster of floating green balloons. The balloons drift upwards in a vertical column, with some appearing to overlap the person.
Above

Temporary Trees: Poplar

A person stands with their arms raised, their figure blurred and translucent. They are enveloped in a swirling, ethereal cloud of glowing yellow lines that arc above them.
Above

Temporary Trees: Weeping Willow

Share Article

Further Info

About the Author

Maisie Skidmore

—

Maisie joined It’s Nice That fresh out of university in the summer of 2013 as an intern before joining full time as an Assistant Editor. Maisie left It’s Nice That in July 2015.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.