Serene Kwok (Critical Study)

Pathway through nature

This picture depicts lush and thick greenery of trees and shrubs on both sides of the man-made pathway. These trees provide humans with shelter and shade from the blazing sun giving us the much needed cool relief on a hot humid day. These trees if left on their own will be able to grow to it full potential with beautiful thick crowns. Nature has its own beauty and if left alone and untouched, the trees can blossom to it potential magnificence. In this case, the magnificent upright trees spread their crowns out to receive sunlight and at the same time returning the much needed oxygen back to nature, thus, playing an important role in keeping nature in balance.

The picture also depicts a man-made pathway cutting right through the trees. Man is expanding his space and is encroaching into nature. This path symbolizes that man is intruding into nature and is disrupting its peacefulness. This intrusion also symbolize that man is selfish as they do not care about the consequences of their actions and is blinded by his own gains. As urbanization continues, man has an increasing tendency to forget that the Mother Nature is the very reason why are surviving. Mother Nature provides us with the basic necessities that are crucial to our survival; however, we are so blinded by our relentless quest for progress that we gloss over these things as if they are no longer important to us. Not only that, we are also damaging nature in our quest for progress and comfort. However, the picture also shows that the surrounding magnificent trees are making a statement that they are resilient, and continue to survive well, even though man has tempered with it.

In any case, at the rate damage is taking place with urbanization; it is not surprising for one to wonder how long Mother Nature can sustain this damage?

Symbiosis

This picture depicts a flowering climber plant growing on a metal wire fence. As society urbanises it is not possible to leave nature untouched. The metal wire fence is a man-made object that is built on the patch of grass, surrounded by nature. Although this is intruding into nature’s path, the plant growing on it shows that nature has it own way of countering this intrusion and using it to its advantage. In this case, the climber plant is able to climb high above all the other surrounding plants, weeds and grasses which are also competing for sunlight. Therefore, with the metal fence in place, the climber plant can use it as a support to rise above the other plants and flourishes.

This demonstrates that the climber plant is surviving in a symbiotic nature with man. With plenty of sunlight, the plant is growing healthily and beautifully, providing man with a pleasant sight. Man is able to admire the plant’s beauty while unwittingly providing it with an advantage for survival. This therefore shows harmony between man and nature. In this tech-frenzy world, such things are important for us to hang on to in a bid to still be able to connect with nature. I am glad that this harmony can exist, and really hope that it will continue.


Controlling nature’s way

This is a walkway covered with a thick canopy of lush green leaves. Although this structure may not strike you as anything more than a shade for the walkway, it did however catch my attention because it is a not natural. Mother Nature has given us shelter from time immemorial. By creating a shelter using artificial means, man is actually trying to act as Mother Nature. However, man is imperfect in this role no matter how hard he tries to design the walkway to look natural. It is full of imperfections and the outcome looks contorted.

In the picture, the plants are cut and trimmed to fashion into a shelter supported by metal poles at the sides. Also, it is trimmed so that it will look neat and tidy, man’s definition of a ‘pleasing sight’ to visitors who pass by or use the shelter. However, this action is actually controlling nature’s way. Man tries to create something similar to what Mother Nature has provided us with; however, it is done through what man defines as beauty. Man tries to use plants instead of artificial materials, which shows attempts by man to be close to nature. However, in so doing, it shows man has, over the years, distant himself away from nature, as they cannot tell the difference between natural beauty and artificial beauty.

Serene Kwok

2A/07