TREES GO BLUE TO PROMOTE GREEN

Pirrama Park, Sydney | photo by Nikki To

From Sacramento to Sydney, in over 20 cities artist Konstantin Dimopoulos has, quite literally, made a mark on the environment. In an effort to emphasise the ephemeral quality of nature, and raise awareness of environmental issues, the Egyptian-born, New Zealand-based artist is using a non-toxic, non-permanent pigment to paint Blue Trees. “I have always known that art is, and has always has been, an extended part of nature and that art can effect social change,” Dimopoulos says of his interest in public art.

“For that to happen one has to move out of the art institutions and galleries and move outside among nature and human beings in their living spaces.”

Dimopoulos’ ongoing Blue Trees project seeks to express a message of social consciousness and ecological awareness, particularly with regard to ecocide and the deliberate destruction of forests. In both cities and natural landscapes, the artist comes together with volunteers from the community to transform trees into canvases for colour and creative expression.

“I think of the blue trees as an artwork that has a strong regenerative aspect to it, an organic work that is continually changing and evolving from site to site,” Dimopoulos claims.

“From season to season the trees grow through the cycles of nature and the colours also begin to change and disappear. There is a sense of time as a part of the concept, time that determines our own existence is measured through these trees.”