HippyTree bore out of an interest in how the evolution of our environment has affected perceptions of nature and native habitat. Urbanization, and the consequent human estrangement from pure and traditional forms of nature, has driven society to compensate for its loss by introducing new and ultimately bizarre forms of ‘nature’ into the contemporary milieu. Backyards full of grass, windows brimming with flowers, freeways divided by flowerbeds and restaurants complete with fishponds, all are examples of modern additions to the urban landscape. One must keep in mind that these items are appropriate only against the backdrop of contemporary society; an individual considering these objects in pre-industrial civilization (or parts of the third world for that matter) would find the replication of a pond irrational. As society evolves further away from its organic origins, artificial surrogates grow more relevant to a populace increasingly willing to redefine its perception of nature.

Hippytree - as art, urban installations and apparel – arose out of these observations with two chief concerns: to what extent has society altered its perceptions to coincide with man-made compositions of nature? And how far can we expand on this phenomenon through an artistic and mainstream medium?