Berlin tree artist forbidden from future projects

An artist in Berlin, Olivier Jaffrot, has been forbidden from creating more tree sculptures in the city after Green Party concerns that his work harms the natural environment.

Berlin artist banned from sculpting trees

District councillor for Urban Development, Roads, Green Spaces and the Environment Claudia Leistner (Greens) has said that Berlin artist Olivier Jaffrot can no longer create his tree sculptures in the city’s parks.

Leistner says the decision was reached because Jaffrot’s tree sculptures, which he makes from the stumps or trunks of felled trees, could damage the environment of breeding water birds, insects and fungi.

Jaffrot is “devastated” following sculpture ban

Speaking to taz, Jaffrot said he was devastated by the news. The artist has been creating tree sculptures, most commonly in Treptower Park for years and is a known local character. The artist spends around six days a week creating the sculptures, with a single work taking around two years to complete.

Jaffrot added that it isn’t his work that disturbs the park’s animals, but people and dogs. Speaking to the magazine, nature conservation activist Kay-Uwe Reschke, argued that Jaffrot’s work may disturb the natural habitat, but only for a short period, after which animals seem perfectly happy to spend time near the work. According to Jaffrot, swans bred just a few metres from one of his sculptures last spring.

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