"Indifferent Witnesses"

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Plants living in the city.
Some are carried by wind and birds. Others are brought by human intention. They take root in the scant soil that manages to surface, and photosynthesize using sunlight that slips through the gaps between buildings. Weeds that rapidly expand their territory are despised and removed without mercy. Even great trees that have lived for decades within holes cut into concrete are effortlessly felled by new human plans.

And yet, plants continue to grow and leave descendants in these harsh conditions. Long before humanity appeared, plants have inhabited the Earth, witnessing the rise and fall of countless living beings. With neither affection nor anger nor sympathy, they quietly watch the day when humanity will eventually vanish from the surface of the planet. These are the Indifferent Witnesses.

Through my work, I look toward our future from the perspective of plants living in the city. Loved, exploited, and rejected by humans. What emerges is the trace of a civilization where affection and egoism intertwine, flourishing as it moves toward extinction.

Light captured on 8×10 inch film is rendered as platinum–palladium prints. The image, created by embedding metal into a paper support made from plants themselves, will continue to preserve this memory for more than a thousand years after I have disappeared from this world.

 

Hiro Nishikawa