Paris Photo: The Depressive Palm Tree

Jaap Scheeren’s “Depressive Palmtree” immediately caught my eye. It’s a giant print, befitting its subject matter. And the trunk, broken exactly in the middle, results in a neat bit of symmetry that borders on anthropomorphism.

This sense of anthropomorphism, it turns out, is not just subtly implied in the photo’s visuals. This becomes especially clear when you notice the smaller framed text hanging next to the photograph, in which the tree laments being the subject of some photographer’s abstract art:

File Scheeren under the group of fine art photographers that successfully employs humor in serious work–a group that I’m always refreshed to stumble upon.

Scheeren is on display at the booth of Flatland Gallery, in Utrecht. More from Paris Photo here.