Jaakko Pernu is a land artist and sculptor from the subarctic city of Oulu, Finland, a place that's surrounded by Boreal forest. With inspiration from the timber outside, Pernu creates expressive installations from wooden strips. The resulting works, which comment on the give-and-take relationship between humans and nature, are some of the most impressive examples of environmental art......read more
There may be no activity that better exemplifies a child's sense of creation and play than building a fort. Whether constructed in the living room from cushions and furniture, or in the outdoors from sticks or snow, the fort invokes nostaglia in all of us. London-based photographer Ellie Davies, whose work we spotted at Arkitip, nicely taps into that vibe with her wistful and dreamy Dwellings......read more
Looking like scenes from some fairy tale and/or acid trip, the swirling landscape works of Charles Jencks are in fact informed by big scientific ideas like fractals, genetics, chaos theory, and waves. Take, for instance, The Garden of Speculation, in Scotland, where a Jencks designed a terrace that shows the distortion of space and time caused by a black hole, a "Quark Walk"......read more
The work of North Carolina-based artist Patrick Dougherty proves our theory that the most interesting things are the ones that are hardest to classify. Whatever you want to label the sweeping structures he makes from sticks and saplings -- Environmental art? Sculpture? Architecture? -- they are definitely entrancing. Springing from the earth in whirling animated forms, the sculptures inevitably......read more
Bright, synthetic color meets natural materials in "Wake," a land art installation by Michigan artist Michael McGillis. The semi-subterranean piece transforms the relatively mundane sight of giant wood piles into a surprisingly beautiful and interactive work of art. Originally installed at Minnesota's Franconia Sculpture Park in 2006, the installation consists of a 95-foot......read more
Since we spotted them on Faith Is Torment last weekend, Tony Plant's awesome ephemeral sand drawings have been popping up all over the 'net. No matter, they're a worth a triple look. Described by Surfer's Path as "[an] environmental artist, photographer and surf creature whose imagination stretches to the far and hidden corners of the coastline," Plant creates massive, swirling installations......read more
What happens when an artist decides to hang six miles of fabric over a river in South Central Colorado? Well, that depends what side of the river you are on. If you're on the side of art and conceptual installation, a project of this nature is like being a kid on Christmas morning. If, on the other hand, you're on the side of nature conservancy, it might be an act akin to Sinead O’Connor......read more
Located in Egypt's Sahara Desert, “Desert Breath” is a massive land art installation in the form of two spirals emerging from a 100-foot-wide circular depression. Covering over a million square feet of desert, the monumental piece is visible on Google Earth. It is a collaboration between artist Danae Stratou and architects Alexandra Stratou and Stella......read more
Animation, music and photography are juxtaposed to explore the liminal space between land and sea. A short and beautiful film by Sean Vicary....read more
Foreign shapes envelop and blend with London's landscape creating a surreal unity. A wonderfully visual confection with a great track to accompany it. The piece is by Irrum K and Jeremy C. Music by Beach House - Take Care (Sub Pop). ...read more