THE BROCCOLI TREE
Framing a space by lake Vättern, Sweden.
Framing a space by lake Vättern, Sweden.
I often get the question – ”What’s the story about the tree?” If there is one, I’m probably writing it right now. No buried vikings or epic battles in the past, to my knowledge.
My name is Patrik Svedberg and I’m a photographer, born and based in Sweden, at the southern tip of the second largest lake in the country, lake Vättern.
On my way to work in the morning, I pass by the shore where this crack willow tree (among several other trees) is located, and in May 2013 I documented it for the first time. The camera was my broken iPhone – you can actually see a black dot in the grass on that photo, due to dirt inside the phone lens. I loved the free space above the tree and the serenity at the shore of the lake. The photo received mind blowing 43 likes on Instagram.
One year, and a few tree shots later I decided the tree had deserved its own Instagram account. My good friend Patric was already going on about the tree as ”Broccoliträdet” and I gave it the more internationally accepted name The Broccoli Tree (@thebroccolitree on Instagram).
The tree is the protagonist, but rather a passive one, letting the plot unfold around it. Each photo contains a story of its own. It’s all in the details and very often with a humorous twist. Just ”beautiful” would bore me to death.
Most people passing by when I’m shooting don’t have a clue what I’m doing, being all caught up with the beautiful view of the lake. And a beach with trees on it. But this is my way of forcing the beholder to see what I see. It’s all about framing and what randomly takes place when I’m there. Sometimes it’s the most beautiful sky. Sometimes it’s a couple in their nineties taking a walk. Sometimes it’s birds, or stars, or just so so grey and dull. But it’s almost never about the tree itself. And I can’t do magic – I‘ve had aurora borealis (or the northern lights), but some things just can’t be. For example, the tree and the lake are positioned straight to the North, so you will never see a sunset behind the tree in @thebroccolitree timeline. No matter what.
For some time now people have been asking me about making posters or fine art prints of the tree. Personally I’m thrilled with the idea and happy to be able to say that large format fine art prints of The Broccoli Tree will appear in a very close future.
I have been in contact with a couple of art galleries and currently I’m working on the details around distribution of physical prints. As of right now I don’t know what form the process will take, but I hope to be able to present a great solution for all of you as soon as possible. Thebroccolitree.com is where you’ll read all about it. Here you’ll find news on when and where The Broccoli Tree is represented in galleries, or when an exhibition opening is about to take place. The tree timeline will display all the trees from Instagram, only in a larger format.
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