Lee Dong Ying 2A/07

The above picture displays a pathway flanked on both sides by towering green trees. As seen in the picture, the greenery overshadows all the man-made features, the lamppost looks surprisingly miniature. Down the path, solid brown brick curbs are emplaced on both sides of the path between the trees and the pathway, and on the far end of the path a lone human can be visibly seen. The significance of this scene is of that of the disconnection in man’s relationship with nature. This disconnection is portrayed by the man-made barriers to hinder or completely block off the presence of nature, as seen in the picture, the brick curbs serve to block plants from growing close to the pathway, blocking nature’s interaction with mankind as he isolates himself. Also in this picture, some of the tall trees that have grown over the brick curbs converge over the pathway to provide shade against the sun’s tormenting rays of heat. Even so, these dissent trees are trimmed every now and then to ensure that they do no hinder a man’s path down the pathway. This pathway signifies the pathway of progress, the pathway of time which man travels down every now and then, and throughout this passage of time, nature has consistently provided man with protection against harm, against climate changes. Whilst mankind basks in the rich resources provided by nature, there is little hesitation to destroy something that made him so in the first place.

The above picture shows an extremely weathered mirror which still manages to somewhat serve its purpose to some extent as a mirror as it is able to reflect images of people with some clarity. At the bottom of the mirror where it is badly corroded by moisture contributed by rain, there are some colonies of dark green algae growing. These algae are thriving from the presence of the minerals which comes from the corroded part of the mirror. This displays a unique fusion between urban and nature, of which nature crosses over the boundaries and reclaims a part of what should have been natural. As this is only the initial stage, the mirror is still not completely destroyed by nature, and nature is able to flourish at one corner, but with the passing of time, nature will be able to reclaim whatever it loss without the intervention of mankind to stop it. However, this happens all too slowly, with mankind always being a step ahead of nature, mankind has to learn to balance this relationship, otherwise may soon be too left behind and never be able to reinstate itself to its former glory, or it may be obliterated completely.

The above picture shows a messy disorientated overgrowth of ferns and some trees. While this is seemingly unsightly when contrasted to the straight and rigid structure with uniform green tiled roofs at the background of the picture, it is the way that nature really is without intervention from mankind. This picture was taken at a deserted corner of the Botanic Gardens where lesser visitors would have come across this sight, this overgrowth of nature was just left the way it was, resulting which was that it was isolated from mankind’s definition of beautiful. There is little variety of colours in this picture which consists mostly of varying shades of green, unlike that of the never-ending fields of colourful blooming flowers which usually comes to mind whenever nature is mentioned. The significance of this is to contrast between the true form of nature and the altered form of nature that is catered to the taste of mankind and designed by him. The dominance of this artificial beauty can also be seen in the uniformly designed urban structures of today showing how unappreciative mankind is of nature and its ways.