Every year, in every country with some Christian remnant, observation or fascination, a phenomenon occurs. Largely Fir trees, but also Spruces and Pines can be found sat on street corners, pavements, parks, bin areas, and even less desirable or helpful places, isolated or in dense herds, waiting to be recycled, reclaimed or taken to landfill. Tall, short, fat, thin, the trees for the most part seem out of place, especially in the large towns and cities that make use of them in the tens of thousands that they do. It’s a tradition, which in the age of austerity and planet-friendly thought, is being questioned more and more, yet the experience of owning temporarily, a living breathing tree, even just a fortnight, is one that simply cannot be replicated. The Christmas trees themselves, some worth hundreds of pounds, are in many ways an insight into the lives of their owners.
Their size can often be a signifier of available disposable income, lifestyle and personal taste. How soon they are taken out from their temporary homes, a sign of personality, superstition or simply indifference. How they are discarded, a pointer of politeness or self-awareness, perhaps. In any case, these trees, which often lay in waiting for days, weeks and even sometimes months for their fates, are iconic, nostalgic and endearing. There is something about their sight that with little effort, can tug at heartstrings or force a smile; they are neither people, nor pets, and yet their ability to trigger emotions in the way either might, is undeniable.
Firs, was photographed over a fortnight in 2019, across London with the simple aim of documenting these trees in their purgatorial stage of life, beautifying them as they lay exposed to the elements, wildlife and city air. Although inanimate, it was often as though many had their own personalities, enhanced by the surroundings and settings they were discovered in. While seen by some as an unaffordable or pointless luxury, or in other cases, an avoidable, seasonal nuisance, Firs was created not as a commentary or critique on the perils of capitalism, but as a visual survey on a peculiar part of British culture.
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