Karen Lang
Dancing Branch - An exploration of birchbark through sculpture and photography - Framed 21 x 33
Nest - An exploration of birchbark through sculpture and photography - Framed 21 x 33
Nature + Nurture explores our relationship with nature — its literal and figurative states, its natural changes, and the changes we impose through interaction, direct or indirect.
Using fallen birch branches and bark, I collect and alter each piece according to a perceived requirement: mending,assembling, embellishing. Some works enact a "process of repair" — mending, weaving, re-shaping — subtly echoing our own interventions in nature. Others become "transformative," built from added or unrelated materials. In both cases, we are manipulating the environment in ways not always purposeful,toward outcomes not always certain.
In these acts of repair and alteration, I ask: is the outcome predictable? Logical? Does intervention lead to the best result? Each piece is an exploratory process, its character emerging as the work unfolds.
The accompanying photographs bring these small sculptures to life — magnifying their beauty and simplicity while revealing the complexity of our bond with nature. They draw us in, sharpening our awareness of the impact we have on the world, and the creative journey that it can take.