SEED BOX: TREES OF NEW YORK, 2019
Photography: Etienne Frossard
SOCRATES SCULPTURE PARK
The 2019 Socrates Annual: October 5, 2019 – May 17, 2020, Long Island City, NY
Seed Box: Trees of New York, 2019
Native Bur Oak, Sweet Gum, Pagoda Dogwood, Eastern Redbud, Witch Hazel, soil, mulch, container pots, wood, epoxy, metal, digital print on vinyl, 25 x 10 x 8 ft.
https://socratessculpturepark.org/exhibition/the-socrates-annual-2019/
https://socratessculpturepark.org/artist/rachelle-dang/
Press:
Hyperallergic, “A New Generation of Artists Confronts Environmental and Colonial Issues” (Zachary Small, September 2019)
https://hyperallergic.com/519054/2019-socrates-annual/
My work uncovers historical and ecological connections between places, people, and things. Seed Box: Trees of New York resembles, at a magnified scale, a specialized case used to preserve and transport seeds and plants over long ocean voyages in the early 18th century. This installation responds to a complex history of global trade throughout the Atlantic region and across the world during an era of colonial expansion. It relates to the natural environs of Socrates Sculpture Park and its location on the East River, once a major shipping route. The installation is comprised of four parts: a giant box with compartments, handles, and a keyhole; a matching lid with ventilation peep holes; living trees native to the northeastern region of the Americas; and oversized hand-made sculptures of seeds. Eighteenth-century botanical textile patterns, an Enlightenment-era map of the world, and an early depiction of logging cover the bracing straps of the box and lid.
Seed exchange transformed English parkland with an abundance of indigenous North American trees and plants, demonstrating new ideas of nature. Those who collected the seeds were often paid with cloth – a currency of its own – and depictions of trees from the Americas were incorporated into designs for textiles and furnishings. These trees were viewed as a raw material for extraction. Deforestation in colonial territories provided timber for ships and new settlements, while clearing the land for cash crops. There are cumulative environmental effects and lasting consequences. One aim of this project is to provide a new context for the seed box today. The giant size of the box and sculpted seeds, and the inclusion of indigenous saplings, encourage a sense of wonder and awe, inspiring the protection of nature. This work also conveys a sense of time and potential: if left untouched, in 10 or 20 years the trees and their roots would overtake and dismantle the box and lid. Preservation of existing forests and reforestation are natural means of arresting climate change. The trees chosen for this project follow the recommendations of the New York Division of Land and Forests guide to native species. There are variations in tree bark, in the shape and color of leaves, and beautiful differences in branch formation. These five trees grow over a vast range, extending beyond borders: they are native to the New York region and the northeast; yet depending on the species, their natural range encompasses Canada or Mexico. The sculpted winged seed is modeled from the critically endangered North American Ash, and the pinecone is from the Eastern Hemlock, threatened by insect pests due to climate change and global trade.
rachelledang@gmail.com
Instagram: rachelledang.studio