Photographer Rita Aida explores healing dynamic of nature in "Tree Therapy" show
Gallery show on Nov. 21 in Asbury Park
By D. Menzies
Rita Aida wants people to see trees. Not just the photography featuring them in her gallery show, “Tree Therapy,” at Over the Moon Studios in Asbury Park on Nov. 21, but up close — maybe even hugging them — as part of tree therapy.
For the past year Aida has been building on something she heard about years ago: the Japanese idea of “shinrin-yoku,” or “forest bathing,” in which someone someone goes out into nature and slows down enough to connect with it in a way believed to be healing.
“It’s not just about hugging trees, it’s about being in nature and really feeling everything about it. It’s really healing, and I wish that people could appreciate nature more,” Aida said.
Trees seem to help each other through fungi networks that connect their root systems even when they’re not right next to each other, and while not all scientists agree on the extent or how intentional that help is, it’s well-documented that proximity to trees has a positive effect on people.
What does that look like?
