4 Structural Fragility
Folds, curled edges and changing contours make the leaf’s spatial transformation visible. Its surface rises, contracts and turns inward, altering how the body occupies space and catches the light. This chapter asks how the withdrawal of water interacts with the leaf’s existing architecture and with other processes of ageing and deterioration. Whole-leaf photographs record posture and outline, while microscopic views examine the ridges, edges and transitions through which these changes become legible.