Unusual Trees and Topiaries Sprout Alongside Buildings in a Photo Series by Sinziana Velicescu

The places where organic growth and human-made structure meet draws the eye of Los Angeles-based photographer Sinziana Velicescu. In her series A Tree Grows In…, Velicescu documents trees and shrubs growing alongside, or in spite of, pastel-hued buildings and fences in the Los Angeles area. Some, like the door-flanking cypresses above, dwarf the built landscape. In others, tightly trimmed topiaries mirror the industrial shapes of rooftop HVAC systems.

“Part of my process is walking or driving around neighborhoods in and around the greater Los Angeles area and coming across these scenes spontaneously,” Velicescu shares with Colossal. “The trees I seek out are ones that have a personality, so much so that they could almost replace human subjects. I’m drawn mostly to the trees that feel trapped by the urban landscape in which they find themselves or are trying to overcome their surroundings in some way.”

The photographer is currently working on Fabricating Desert, a project that explores the fabricated relationship between landscape and architecture in the desert Southwest. You can see more of Velicescu’s photographs on Instagram and Tumblr, and find prints of her images on Uprise Art. (via Ignant)