Trees at the Top of the World emerged as the summer of 2018 turned to autumn and the acceleration of the warming planet was revealed in stories of flood, drought, and fire. From the hills of western Massachusetts, I gathered materials in the woods. The images that emerged depict an aftermath — a delicate climate-changed landscape, reduced to shadow and light. Dominating the series is the leaf, optimistic consumer of carbon dioxide and producer of oxygen. Photosynthesis powers 99% of the world’s ecosystems and, 200 billion years ago, captured the sun’s energy to create the coal and petroleum we burn today. Light colored mushroom spores and leaf frond silhouettes suggest mycorrhiza - the symbiosis between mushrooms and plants that suggest the benefits of collaboration.
