April 6th, 2009
I travel through small stands of trees, or through wooded areas, taking note of what I see and experience. I also drive down roads that are lined with trees, documenting them through the seasons and differing weather conditions. This is a process which gives me an experience of the place, the space and the life going on around me. It is a contemplative activity; it has no beginning or end and serves, first and foremost, to enrich my understanding.
As Nature is indifferent in its attitude to itself, everything is in harmony as nothing has a greater value than anything else. However, human inhumanity to the natural elements – among them, trees – has disturbed the balance of this arrangement. We cannot exist autonomously: we are intrinsically bound to the eco-system through an interdependent and interactive relationship. Creating disturbances in the delicate balance, the hand of humanity can both destroy and heal by its intervention – thus we have a responsibility. The symbolic wisdom of trees and the ancientness of stone can act as guide to our impetuosity.
“Piece for a Maple Tree” 1992
I choose to look at the notion of survival as a process of continuous regeneration, of cycle and continuum, interlocking with the issue of friendship, of relational experience, of being part of a greater whole. It is in this manner that we are protected and nurtured. This security is afforded us when we are in harmony with our surroundings and when we see ourselves as part and parcel of our environment. We need trees to give us a sense of proportion. They are living beings in contact with the earth. They are bigger in size than we are and afford us the refuge of their canopy. They screen us from the wind, they provide us cover in rain, and shade against the sun. We are in the shelter of trees and they are our friends.
Trees are a long time standing. They watch life go round. They are patient and enduring. In the forest, there is protection in numbers. Trees form a shelter-belt, create an umbrella-roof, a sentinel of wood. It is a community of trees, each helping the others. Leaves fall, become food for the tree and it produces more leaves. Each tree sustains itself and those around it.