Since memorable times, man has established a philosophical, mystical and symbolic relationship with trees; they breathe, feed, grow and reproduce, they are a living being, a fundamental and active part of our environment and culture. Preserving them means defending our wellbeing and our memory, as Jacques Brosse explains in his essay "Mythology of Trees", in which he focuses on the cultural heritage that is lost by destroying them. Without trees, life on Earth would be impossible. All plant species provide the oxygen that is essential to our existence, which makes us understand how we are all connected to each other, and how important it is, as the American organization "Nature Conservancy" mentioned, that cities and large urban centers see trees as a public health infrastructure, as they have the fundamental task of providing clean air and combating pollution peaks. Lying on a soft bed of moss in the middle of a dense clearing of trees, closing your eyes and opening them again after a few minutes, no longer having the clear perception of where you are, listening to its sounds, inhaling the breath of the forest at the top of your lungs, observing the distorted footprints of the animals that are part of it, identifying with it so much that you think you are part of it... this is the breath of the forest.

The high forest raises its trees

Weaning them from the light, it

forces them

to send all their green to the summits

The ability

to breathe with all its branches,

the talent

of having branches only for joy,

die slowly

He filters the rain preventing

the desire for thirst

He lets the trees grow

peak to peak:

No one sees more than the other,

they all say the same thing to the

wind.

(Reiner Kunze, “The high forest breeds

its trees,” Sensitive Path)

In four black and white photographs, Alice Janovic expresses the correlation between breathing and image-making. Viewing the photographs in order, there is a transition between indoor and outdoor space. “Scent of Mountain Pine” (2020) initiates the sequence by presenting the act of inhaling, one which conjures the tree to the imagination of both the viewer and the depicted figure.  In “Beyond” (2018), the wrinkled hand, carrying the same dark grey tone as “Scent of Mountain Pine” (2020), guides both the viewer and the figure towards a brighter, unidentified outdoors. Light creeps in through the cracks of a barn built of lumber, the trees distant cousin. The light introduced by the second photograph fills the third photograph (Footprints) as the perspective shifts downward towards the snow-laden forest floor. The avian footprint serves as an index for the natural environment the viewer slowly inhabits. The tension created by the the first three photographs is resolved as we are introduced to the space referenced earlier; the viewer turns upward towards the bright canopy in “Breath of Trees” (2020). 

Much like a Duane Michals photo sequence, the Breath of Trees series carries the viewer through a loose narrative to a joyful destination: in this case, one which culminates in an exhale. Exhaling brings the breath outside the dark interior of the body and out into the light, into the air. The series is intimately tied to the photographer’s experience. Often the photographer will inhale prior to clicking the shutter in order to remain totally still, quiet in anticipation of the light hitting the mirror and thus creating the image. In the exhale, the photographer relaxes the body and creative mind as the image is completely captured according to their intuition and skill. 

Like Reiner Kunze, whose poem Janovic cites, she employs a minimalist approach to storytelling. Each uses elements of the respective media sparingly for a greater emotional impact. In four photographs, she conveys an almost universal experience of stepping outdoors and immersing oneself in the natural world, all while invoking the breath. 

- Daniela Grande