Naoko Ito: Urban Nature

These beautiful and delicate sculptures are part of the Urban Nature project by Japanese artist Naoko Ito, currently based in New York City.

Carefully dissected branches wind their way through a labyrinth of glass jars; possibly a comment on our species' gradual compartmentalisation of the natural world, or perhaps making a different point about the irrepressibility of nature.

There's also a lot in these pieces which borrows from traditional Japanese art, with all its intricate cherry blossoms and intertwining branches: an essay on that subject can be found here.

Found in the QBN Pic Of The Day thread (posted by scarabin)