Peishan Huang & Maria Simmons
If a Tree Falls in a Forest

[En anglais]

In their exhibition If a Tree Falls in a Forest, curated by Tangent Collective, Peishan Huang and Maria Simmons explore the incongruities of a world in which the natural and the artificial collide. Huang’s photographic series Artificial Nature (2017–21) captures the eerie presence of plastic flora and fauna among inhabited spaces. One image depicts a set of artificial flowers sunk into the yellowing lawn of a residential lot. The picture is printed on translucent fabric suspended by strings of falling resin drops. The drops land on fragments of rocks climbed by synthetic grass, creating the illusion of a forthcoming artificial oasis fed by resin. Huang’s subsequent photographic series, Forgotten Spaces as Temporary Studios (2020–ongoing), showcases abandoned buildings where nature is reclaiming its presence among the ruins. 

Her work underscores an isolation of the living from the non-living, an alienating vision that differs from popular interspecies discourses. Yet, the recurring presence of hidden elements within her images hints at emerging realities that are left unseen. Her sense of composition and framing is impeccable, always directing our gaze toward what remains veiled by a layer of opaque film similar to the covering of a greenhouse. The obscuration leads us to wonder if the vegetation growing beyond the frame is flourishing or already dried up.