Uproot

The second work within DC.es portrays the journey of Spanish photographer Paula Anta. In this photography exhibition entitled Uproot, Anta explores nature and the uprooting process from a new perspective.

Uprooting is the loss or corruption of the roots and symbolizes an estrangement or loss of vital meaning. The exhibition showcases three photographic series taken in different parks inside and outside of Washington, D.C.

The Uproot series displays images of tree roots that, due to age or illness, have fallen. Their new state, even if it is already lifeless, turns visible what has remained hidden under the soil. The fall of the tree verticalizes the root, almost like a wall, carrying in its nooks and crannies stones, sand, and all nutrients of the soil. The root is presented almost like a steroid floating back again among the hidden, connecting the shapes and forms that belong to the inner and the outside, in a kind of cosmos.

Thermal Nature presents a diptych of rhizome images through the shapes of almost symmetrical patterns. They are roots and branches in mangroves, rivers, and their mouths. The hidden part that emerges and disappears by the fall and rise of the water. Printed on thermal blankets, they allude to the temperature changes that our planet is suffering and the importance of trying to maintain those that ensure our survival.

Lastly, the Hoist series is an act of salvation. The fallen tree that arises, even if it is through an artistic action or intervention. Once more, the banks of the Potomac hide the roots, to hoist the trees as landmarks. These, again, show their richness as triumphant poles that wave, to the beat of the air, the sacredness of the forms.