Stephen Bulger Gallery is pleased to present “About Trees” our sixth solo exhibition of work by Canadian photographer Scott Conarroe. The large format colour photographs are a considered collection of imagery of trees and greenery, from Guizhou, China, to the Canadian Rockies, to Marseille, France, taken from 2008 to 2022.
In the vein of Conarroe’s previous bodies of work, there is a clear dialogue and exploration of the natural world and urbanization. While some of the images were seconded from dedicated projects, most were distractions from them. Often, the scenes simply caught Conarroe’s eye while looking for what to photograph next. The trees in the exhibition are exquisite, but also with little pretense or glory. Much like us, they are bounded by circumstance.
The trees in Conarroe’s imagery implore us to reflect on our place within nature by reminding us they have a different relationship with time. They can vastly outlive us, their time on earth often spanning multiple generations. When viewed in relation to their environment the contrast between the natural world and our constructed one becomes stark. The isolation of trees, and sometimes the absence of them, serves as a reminder of the toll of modern living.
“About Trees” comes together something like a forest itself. When looked at in isolation, each image reflects its own moment in time, an individual scene and location, each image describing suppleness and stubbornness, growing into and out of. Considered from the perspective of the grouping, the images become an ode to the natural world – an exploration of the intersection between nature and urbanization, isolation and connection, and the changing landscape.
Scott Conarroe has an MFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. He has been an artist-in-residence at Light Work (US), Villa Sträuli (CH), and FLACC (BE), and a Canadian Armed Forces Civilian Artist in the arctic. He has received numerous awards including grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and a Guggenheim Fellowship. His books include By Rail and By Sea (Black Dog Publishing, 2014) and The Great Eastern (The Velvet Cell, 2019). His works are in numerous collections including the National Gallery of Canada, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and Stadt Zürich. Conarroe lives in Bern, Switzerland.
