Artist Statement
I started photographing trees about four years ago as an escape from the horrors of the pandemic and my internal turmoil from my father’s illness and decline from Alzheimer’s disease. City parks and country roads became my sanctuary, my quiet places, and trees with their anthropomorphic shapes became my companions. What started as an escape, soon became a fascination and a deeper sense of awareness of how extraordinary these living organisms are.
This project is about the strong emotional response these particular trees that I choose to photograph elicit in me. Through my photographs of trees, I am trying to capture the grace and soul, the spirit and essence of each tree in order to evoke the emotional resonance and the spiritual connection and wonder I feel. My aim is to create in the viewer similar feelings and awareness towards these trees, to instill a sense of introspection and contemplation, to touch them at a deeper level, to create empathy and a sense of connection between what we see and what we feel.
The trees I photograph aren’t the most beautiful, flowering perfect trees, on the contrary I look for the peculiar, quirky, mostly bare trees to photograph. When I am among those trees I feel at peace and welcomed. I try to capture the surprising moments of beauty and strangeness. I aim to show the extraordinary in the ordinary. I find beauty in the unexpected. In their imperfections I see beauty, strength, grace and vulnerability. Showing the trees in black and white I want to highlight the shapes, lines, forms and architecture of the trees to raise awareness to the raw, natural beauty and the essence of the tree and draw attention to how these majestic beings resemble humans.
Website: www.suzettedushiphotography.com
New Brunswick Art Salon 2025 – Photography: “Beyond the Image: Unveiling Hidden Narratives”
