ABOUT

‘Dens’ is a typological study of the architecture of dens. I was drawn to the temporary nature and various, sometimes ingenious designs of these structures. Each den is unique in design yet similar in construction, usually consisting of an upside-down cone shape, similar to a tipi, using a number of long branches as the frame coming together at the top and spreading out at the bottom. A tree or stump might be used as its main pillar of support. The design of each found wooden structure consists of materials from its place of construction: tree branches, bark, ferns and leaves. At times attempting to document the dens proved frustrating, as I would return to one that I wanted to photograph only to find it had been broken down. Frustration, however, quickly gave way to excitement; I was racing against the clock to capture these fleeting designs, and my photographs would be the only lasting record of them.