Daniel Popper, an artist from South Africa, increases the number of sculptures in the exhibition located at the Morton Arboretum (Illinois, USA). The master’s exhibition, entitled “Man and Nature”, has been on display at the 1,700-acre park since 2021. Visitors to the Arboretum will be able to admire the artist’s works until 2023.
At the time of its opening, the Popper exhibition had already become the largest of all time. The master added three more figures to it, bringing the number of his sculptures to eight.
Three new works logically continue the main idea that their creator wants to convey – to convey the reverent feeling of the connection between man and trees. This wonderful project aligns with the Morton Arboretum’s goals of protecting trees and educating the community about their importance. A significant event is that the works will appear in the park in 2022, because the Arboretum is just turning 100 years old. By the way, the most compact sculpture among Popper’s new works was made precisely in honor of this event, in order to celebrate it in this way.
This figure, called “Ginkgo”, will be installed at the entrance of the visitor center to greet guests every time. The sculpture depicts a woman’s face, reminiscent of a mask, framed by ginkgo foliage, which perfectly illustrates the diversity of trees growing here. Given park founder Jay Morton’s special relationship with this beautiful plant, it would seem quite appropriate in a work dedicated to the long history of the Morton Arboretum. Many ginkgo seedlings were planted in the vast green area, and now there are 15 species and 77 specimens of these trees growing here.
Popper’s other works, Mycelium and Ephemera, explore the various fungi and plants that guests can discover while visiting the park. Thus, the artist invites us to think about how everything in nature is interconnected, and about our place in this world. “Ephemera” is in the meadow, and “Mycelium” is hidden in a secluded wooded area. This arrangement only enhances the meaning of the works and creates the feeling of a real treasure hunt when searching for Popper sculptures on the territory of the Arboretum.
An updated version of Popper’s famous exhibit is just one of many reasons to visit the Morton Arboretum, located outside Chicago. All eight sculptures will be on view until March 2023.
