RIVERS & TIDES- ANDY GOLDSWORTHY

“Nature doesn’t need us- we need nature.”

Nature has, on it’s own, provided us the space and foundation for art, design and
architecture for years. In this documentary, Andy Goldsworthy has extraordinarily
presented nature’s art and it’s close relation to life, focusing in detail on the fluidity,
unpredictability and mysterious aspects of nature.

Looking closely at Goldsworthy’s work, I am quite fascinated by his understanding of the

hidden concepts behind how everything in nature works. The deep trust he has developed
in nature overtime is really captivating to me. Spending hours and sometimes days creating
sculptures out of mere objects he finds in nature for example stones, leaves, twigs, ice
etcetera and then placing them at different sites in the surroundings only to observe the
nature, the tides and the wind affecting them or working it’s way around them instead of
creating actual works of art to be displayed at galleries and museums is something
vulnerably brave and astonishingly unique to do in my eyes. He himself takes his work to
the very edge of it’s collapse; a courageous and distinct thing that no other artist has done
therefore making him stand out.

Moreover, Goldsworthy also brings out the color in nature in quite an eccentric manner. He
gives color a new expression of life which cannot be defined well enough through words. I
agree quite a lot with his idea of color and it’s energy flowing throughout everything around
us. In my opinion, he has done a great job at explaining this fact through practical examples
for example at one instant, he relates the color red to be found underneath the skin of the
earth relating it to blood underneath human skin and portraying a close connection between
everything in nature.

Consequently, his work of making a wall out of clay was really interesting to me as was the
concept behind it: what lies below the surface affects the surface. It can be implied upon us
humans as well since the good or bad in our personality shows upon the surface through our
words, actions and looks.

In conclusion, Goldsworthy’s close interaction with nature which can be seen in his work as
well has greatly affected my thoughts and inspired me to observe nature more carefully.

Hibba Haq

338785 (B-Arch)

13/12/20