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24 sculpted trees become giant colored pencils in south african land art installation

designboom.com·May 7, 2026

The land art installation 'Deus sive Natura,' created by Strijdom van der Merwe, features 24 sculpted Water Oaks shaped like colored pencils, exploring the interplay between nature, intervention, and environmental transformation. The project emphasizes selective alteration and is designed to evolve over time through natural growth cycles and seasonal changes.

For a professional in design and architecture, the "Deus sive Natura" installation offers a compelling case study of how selective intervention and natural growth can coexist in design projects. This land art installation uses the non-invasive pruning of Water Oaks to create a geometric, pencil-like structure that evolves over time, emphasizing sustainable design practices that respect and enhance natural environments. This approach can inspire new strategies in sustainable architecture and landscape design, where maintaining biological integrity is as important as achieving aesthetic goals.

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