Shinji Turner-Yamamoto's Stunning "Hanging Garden"

Since 2000, the Japanese artist Shinji Turner-Yamamoto has been creating jaw-dropping, site-specific installations for his Global Tree Project. His latest, "Hanging Garden," is on display now in the abandoned, deconsecrated Holy Cross Church in Cincinnati.

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Shinji explains:

I saw large uprooted oak in a park. It laid as if sleeping on the hill.
It's leaves were still very green. A few days later, when I returned, the tree was gone, leaving a mound of [raw] earth in it's place. I envisioned a new tree growing on this mound.

In that moment, the Global Tree Project clicked into place. I saw a thread running through all my work, one that reopens our connection with trees, and showing the interconnectedness of all life.

Like a tree in the forest surrounded by other trees and plants, these trees are given singular sculptural presence. By taking a tree out of it's natural context, I invite viewers to experience nature in a normal, more contemplative way. [See the video below for more.]

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See the video below for more of Shinjin's description. But first, here's a closer look at Hanging Garden.

And here's Shinji talking about this in the context of the broader Global Tree Project:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB_Fz8UwBNU&feature=player_embedded

I don't often get excited about so-called "environmental art," as, frankly, it's typically way too literal or over-the-top or just crummy. But this, wow.

Special thanks to Kate for putting these stunning images on my dashboard.