Sculptures that burst into flower, grow foliage, and change color with the seasons; sculptures that are buried in snow and metamorphosized by vegetation: the originality of Nils-Udo's work, when compared to that of Land Artists in general, lies in the way he harnesses the vital spark of nature itself as an integral part of his creative activity. Nature is no longer simply a model, but instead the very object of the artistic process. If Nils-Udo's work have had such strong resonance since he began working with nature in 1972, transcending borders and categorization, it is doubtless because his creations are rooted in a quest shared by all human societies: we look for ourselves in nature and nature makes us look at ourselves.

In his installations and arrangements, Nils-Udo works in a series of undestructive gestures; he makes simple changes, subtle realignments that bring colors, plants, and other natural elements together. The most ordinary of materials becomes the focal point of an artistic composition, crystallizing in miniature the whole spectrum of natural forms that have inspired architecture and ornament throughout civilization. The artist acts as mediator. And therein lies a profound artistic truth: creativity is the fruit of solitary reflection and activity, an exclusively personal journey. The role of the work of art is to share a private vision, a unique way of looking at the world.

To record this journey, Nils-Udo uses photography to document the various phases of the living process of change in his work. Through his photographs, we observe the growth, life, and occasionally the death of a work of art.

This book features 109 installations by Nils-Udo, most accompanied by the artist's own comments on the origins of the piece. The text, by art critic Hubert Besacier, places Nils-Udo's art in the history of artistic practice, and explains his working methods, the materials he uses, and the difficulties he sometimes encounters.

The viewer is left to be absorbed by the enigmatic silence of the images that Nils-Udo proposes.

Nils-Udo was born in Germany in 1937. He began his career as a painter, before discovering his true artistic vocation in nature--an adventure that has taken him to all four corners of the planet: from India to Mexico, from Namibia to Japan. He sculpts within nature, using whatever he finds on site. He rearranges elements of nature, not with a bulldozer, but with an unparalleled delicacy and deftness of touch, before capturing the microcosm he has created in a photograph. Nils-Udo's photographs are exhibited in museums all over the world, and he has been invited to create installations on five continents.

Hubert Besacier is an art critic. He has written several exhibition catalogs on Nils-Udo's work, and is the author of a number of works on major contemporary artists.