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Japanese “flower artist” Azuma Makoto is well-known for large scale projects that place the natural in unnatural settings as he “[pursues] the beauty of plants from a unique point of view.” Although it’s not the first time the artist has worked with Bonsai trees – just last year he launched one into space – “式1 × The Abandoned Power Plant” may be one of his most striking works to date. The modest tree appears to float above ground, secured by tethers within a cage-like metal cube at the center of a massive power plant in Belgium. There’s a certain visual drama in the stark contrast between vast, lifeless space and vivid green growth, yet the diminutive Bonsai contains more power per inch than the entire site that surrounds it. Suspended just above the ground, the tree and all of its roots appear completely detached from their natural origin, imprisoned by the man-made. Both Makoto’s installation and photographic documentation highlight this dynamic and often polarizing relationship between art and architecture. See more of his work here.
