NELSON SANTOS . Leavings
During quarantine, Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn has been a sanctuary. I walk my dog Timmy there, read a book, go for a run, meditate, meet friends, listen to podcasts, or just sit. It also became my unofficial art residency.
I began my Leavings project in August, while the trees were lush and green. I create beaded and bedazzled leaves and I would hang them discretely in the park hidden by the dense foliage. I continued adding more leaves throughout the fall and winter, watching these little leavings reveal themselves as the trees changed colors and its leaves fell to the ground. The process was a creative antidote to the anxiety and weight of COVID, quarantine, police violence and political unrest. Over time I installed 69 leaves made of wire, beads, metal, sequins, foil, and holographic tape. Many of those leaves, like the real leaves before them have fallen, blown away or were taken, but some treasures still remain to be discovered.
Thank you to my friends and family for supporting me through this time, and to Eric Rhein, whose artwork and Leaves project inspired this idea.