One of the issues I struggle with in my life is being open. I think it stems from a fear of being judged, that in knowing the real me, I will be found lacking in some capacity and abandoned. It’s something I’ve tried to work through, a lack of faith in anything that would endure.
It is one of the reasons I wanted to become an architect. I thought that in imagining these built forms, I was creating something that would remain, something I could construct that would stand long after I was gone. It is also the reason why I’m so drawn to photographing the natural world, especially near urban areas. Repeatedly, the subjects that I find engaging are the ones that survive in an environment meant to exterminate as a way to answer the questions I continually grapple with: What is permanent? Will anything last?
I became obsessed with this tree’s form and I photographed it more intensely than any subject I have ever focused on. It was alone, with its scars unclothed, threatened by vines, but still standing. I was moved by its quiet beauty and strength, within it a humble model of perseverance and survival.
© Lauren Henkin. Still Standing, Standing Still 1
© Lauren Henkin. Still Standing, Standing Still 2
© Lauren Henkin. Still Standing, Standing Still 3
© Lauren Henkin. Still Standing, Standing Still 4
© Lauren Henkin. Still Standing, Standing Still 5
© Lauren Henkin. Still Standing, Standing Still 6
© Lauren Henkin. Still Standing, Standing Still 7
© Lauren Henkin. Still Standing, Standing Still 8
© Lauren Henkin. Still Standing, Standing Still 9
© Lauren Henkin. Still Standing, Standing Still 10
© Lauren Henkin. Still Standing, Standing Still 11
© Lauren Henkin. Still Standing, Standing Still 12
© Lauren Henkin. Still Standing, Standing Still 13
© Lauren Henkin. Still Standing, Standing Still 14
© Lauren Henkin. Still Standing, Standing Still 15
Exactly!
Funny how you can extract so much meaning from one simple tree
With the last picture, I wanted to show that from a distance, it looked traditionally beautiful, peaceful almost… The other images are all up and very close within in and there’s a different story told, a more unconventional beauty.
Seeing the same tree over and over again, from many different angles, is like knowing someone in all their many moods, both good and bad, but still being able to love them.
(Oh dear, too soppy? Sorry)
From a distance your tree looks serene. Up close it seems an unquiet soul.