About Trees

New Yorkbased Irish artist Katie Holten's artist book About Trees is the first in BDP's Parapoetic series exploring the Anthropoceneour current geologic epoch in which human activities significantly impact earth's ecosystems. The project poetically considers our consciousness of nature, language and memory through the image and history of the tree in a selection of writings by a diverse international group of artists, poets, essayists and scientists including Jorge Luis Borges, Tacita Dean, James Gleick, Amy Harmon, Natalie Jeremijenko, Elizabeth Kolbert, Robert Macfarlane and Rachel Sussman, among many others. To introduce each chapter, the artist created an alphabet and typeface from her tree drawings, reminding us of the significance of trees as barometer of man's impact upon the planet. This project is inspired by Holten's recent body of work on trees shown internationally. Holten represented Ireland at the 50th Venice Biennale and is the recipient of numerous awards including a Fulbright Scholarship (2004).