This is part of the KNOW 2310 Projects.
The land carries its people and their memories.
I used pieces of tree bark that had fallen to the ground on rainy days to represent the land. Layered together, they form a landscape. This is a topography made from the bark of plane trees.
(Wet tree bark is less likely to break or crack during the assembly process.)
Each pushpin stands for an inhabitant of the land. The land derives its meaning from the people who live upon it, and it is through their presence that the fragments of bark are connected into a shared terrain.
The dried flowers represent commercial districts. The dense cluster at the center corresponds to Downtown Columbus. Flowers symbolize life, and they also represent the core of the city.
Before completing this work, my partner and I first created a composite map. It consisted of contour lines and functional zoning, serving as the foundation for the final piece.
Synthesis Map Credits: Charlie Zhang & Aiden Bowerman
To understand a city, you must observe it — observe all its aspects, then deconstruct it, understand it, and re-express it. This work has given me a very unique understanding of a city: how humans and nature unconsciously blend together, how everything is so harmonious and beautiful. Even though wet tree bark will eventually dry, it still leaves a mark behind. All the materials for this Columbus map come from Columbus. The work is environmentally friendly.
by Charlie Zhang （LeTing）