From monumental wooden sculptures in Mexico to carved tree trunks in Ghana, artists and nature join forces in unexpected ways. This collection features 12: roots forming geometric patterns in Hong Kong, trees turned into libraries in the Netherlands, sculptures that cradle saplings, and murals that play with real foliage. Each piece reveals how trees can transform into art that feels alive.
More: When Street Art Meets Nature (40 Photos)
1. Come Into Light — Daniel Popper in Tulum, Mexico
A monumental wooden figure with intricate carved details opens its chest to reveal a passage filled with greenery, blending sculpture and landscape in a striking way. More photos!: Come in to Light – Wooden Sculpture By Daniel Popper In Tulum, Mexico
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2. Banyan Roots — Hong Kong
The roots of a banyan tree spread across a paved walkway in ordered, grid-like formations, creating a natural pattern that feels designed by hand.
3. Caring Hand — Eva Oertli & Beat Huber in Glarus, Switzerland
A giant sculpted hand emerges from the ground, gently cradling a growing tree in its palm, symbolizing protection and care for nature.
4. I’m Home — Wendy in Mexico
A black-and-white portrait painted inside the hollow of a tree trunk, giving the impression of a face living within the tree itself.
5. Fake Views — SMOK in Antwerpen, Belgium
A mural of a woman holding scissors appears to trim a real tree, blending painting and nature into a playful trompe-l’oeil. More photos!: Fake Views – By SMOK in Antwerpen, Belgium
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6. Give — Lorenzo Quinn
White sculpted hands rise from the grass to cradle a young tree, creating an image of support and responsibility toward the environment.
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7. In Your Hands — Adrien Martinetti in Ajaccio, France
A mural shows large, realistic hands holding soil while a real tree grows upward, merging painted illusion with living nature.
🔗 Follow Adrien Martinetti on Instagram
8. Open Air Library — Ruurlo, Netherlands
An old hollow tree trunk is transformed into a community library, with small wooden-framed shelves holding books inside its bark. More photos!: Tree Became a Library (+9 More Book Artworks)
9. Remnants of the UK’s Tallest Tree — Sculpture by Simon O’Rourke in Wales, UK
The trunk of Britain’s former tallest tree is carved into a towering hand reaching skyward, turning what remained of the tree into a symbol of resilience. More about it and photos!: From Tallest Tree to Towering Sculpture: The Giant Hand of the UK
10. Tree of Life — Aburi Botanical Gardens, Ghana
Detailed carvings cover the trunk of a tree, depicting human figures intertwined, turning the bark into a story of life and community.
11. Vortex at Little Milford Woods — Jon Foreman in Wales, UK
A spiral of autumn leaves wraps around the trunk of a tree, creating a vortex pattern that flows from the forest floor upwards. The installation highlights natural cycles with minimal intervention. More!: 9 Leaf Sculptures That Stir the Soul in the Forest (Art by Jon Foreman)
🔗 Follow Jon Foreman on Instagram
12. Nadine and the Chartreuse Respite — David Zinn in Ann Arbor, USA
A small character sits against the trunk of a drawn tree, using a patch of bright green groundcover as the foliage above. The figure holds a book while leaning on a purple stone, with scattered leaves placed around the scene. The drawing is integrated into the garden path, blending chalk illustration with real plants. More!: Happy Art by David Zinn (10 Photos)
🔗 Follow David Zinn on Instagram
More: Nature Is Everything (11 Photos)
Which one is your favorite?
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I love #6. “Give” says it all to me.
I love trees in every expression.
Number 4 is Jack Nicholson in The Shining. I’m surprised you didn’t mention it.
Here’s Johnnie..i got it straight away Stinger.
[…] More: When Trees Become Art (10 Photos) […]
Tree of life. I would like to know more about the store the art tells about the community.
Trees are ART! However too few humans fail to realise this. What is wonderful we have ARTISTS with extraordinary vision and talent that inspires awareness and thought.
By the way, these trees are dead and would cut down if not for the insight to permit extending their long fe in a new form.
@streetartutopia Trees are art without any additional adornment. To my mind, this is defacing and disrespecting trees. Other people may think differently, but this is how I feel about it.
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