The Blue Trees is a performance and installation artwork by the artist, Konstantin Dimopoulos using a powerful colour transformation to provoke discussion about global deforestation. Every year the globe is deforested of some 13 million hectares of old forests, trees that sustain life on earth. Trees breathe for the planet and without them life cannot be sustained.
"As an artist I feel that trees are largely invisible in our daily lives, and it’s not until too late do we realise how important they are personally, aesthetically and environmentally. The object of this installation is to generate discussion about trees and the role that art plays in highlighting social and environmental issues. Colour is a powerful stimulant, a means of altering perception and defining space and time. The fact that blue is a colour that is not naturally identified with trees suggests to the viewer that something unusual, something out of the ordinary is happening. It becomes a magical transformation. In nature colour is used both as a defensive mechanism, a means of protection, and as a mechanism to attract. The Blue Trees attempts to waken a similar response from viewers. It is within this context that the blue denotes sacredness, something reverential."
The Blue Trees was first created in pilot form in Melbourne in 2005 and launched in March 2011 at the Vancouver Biennale, Canada. The trunk and branches of live trees are coloured blue using a biologically-safe natural pigment in water.