Brian Kelley (b. 1988) is a photographer and archivist, originally from Horseheads, NY. He moved to NYC in 2006 and received his a B.F.A. in Photography from the School of Visual Arts in 2010. Kelley’s mixed-media approach has allowed him to pursue artwork with disruptive capacities—exhaustive research, slow & meditative composition, and the repurposing of photographic mediums—all employed to reveal the artifacts left behind by the precession of simulacra. Kelley's artistic pursuit contributes to the cultural archive of American ephemera, building on series such as “Parks” a collection of over 300 United States national park maps, ephemera, and brochures spanning over a 100 years. Currently, Kelley is based between Brooklyn and Lumberland, NY.

Images by Brian Kelley

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‘When we tug at a single thing in nature we find it attached to the rest of the world’ - John Muir

With the rapid increase of urban sprawl, the rise of global temperature, invasive insects and much more, our forests are dwindling at alarming rates. In 2017, the photographer and archivist, Brian Kelley began to create this archive, to preserve these trees legacies and to call attention to the importance of protecting the delicate ecosystems they inhabit.

The large format photographs, captured entirely by Kelley, provide an insight into the tree’s life and the environment it occupies whether it be a major tourist destination, the streets of New York City, or The Lost Forest in the Oregon Desert. Each photograph is accompanied by audio recordings of the surrounding landscape, capturing the sounds that encompass each tree.