Joseph Mougel

With this most iteration of Herbarium, I emulate my paternal grandfather who worked as a forester in Gérardmer, France, managing the fisheries and trees. Instead of working in the Vosges mountain range, I directed my efforts toward reclaiming grasslands in the Great Plains by removing Eastern red cedar encroaching on the landscape. After sawing the trunks into sections, I allow nature to take its course, as tunnels interlace the cambium beneath the bark. Dendroleipos is the continuation of the performance, with the tree ultimately removed again, leaving behind negative space defined by debris scattering a nebulous silhouette as insects continue to consume the wood.

www.josephmougel.com