Each year, thousands of people head to remote camps across British Columbia to take on the demanding work of reforestation. For months at a time, they plant trees by hand in terrain that is uneven, rocky, and cluttered with debris from past logging, and in many areas visibly shaped by the growing impact of forest fires. In her series of large scale photographs, Montreal-based artist Rita Leistner explores endurance, environmental care, and the hard work people do behind the scenes to help nature recover, showing how contemporary portraiture can honour these efforts and deepen our connection to the natural world.
Rita Leistner is a Canadian photographer and filmmaker who spent a decade working as a tree planter, planting over five hundred thousand trees during that time. In the 2000s, she was active as a photojournalist, most notably covering the Iraq War. She is widely recognized for her 2021 documentary film Forest for the Trees, which earned her a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Cinematography in a Documentary at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022.
Organized by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Rita Leistner: The Tree Planters is curated by John Geoghegan, Curator, McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
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