Tree Lore
I have a passion for trees, probably partly due to having spent my early years living next to Richmond Park, where many an hour was spent walking through woods and climbing trees. More recently I have been concerned with the mindless destruction of forests and woods throughout the world, as well as the indigenous cultures that live amongst them. We in the Uk have forgotten our long and ancient relationship to trees, woods and forests, a relationship that can be traced back to our indigenous peoples, the Celts. Their lives were so entwined with trees and forests, they created an alphabet, known as the Ogham, consisting of a number of characters, each character corresponding to a particular tree.'
Newbury Bypass 1990's
Bipass I- digitally enhanced photograph
This body of work begins with a series of photographs I took whilst living in Newbury. I was driving to a local wood for my morning dog walk only to discover this apocalyptic scene. I drove back home to get my camera to record this historic and disturbing event. I didn't actively take part in the demonstrations but was a witness to much of what went on. I was deeply saddened by the wanton destruction of so many ancient trees. |
Bipass II- digitally enhanced photograph
The Newbury bypass, is a 9-mile stretch of dual carriageway road which bypasses the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It is located to the west of the town and forms part of the A34 road. It opened in 1998. Between January 1996 and April 1996 the clearance of approximately 360 acres of land including 120 acres of woodland, and the felling of nearly 10,000 mature trees to make way for the construction of the road, led to some of the largest anti-road protests in European history. |
Bipass III- digitally enhanced photograph
Around 7,000 people demonstrated on the site of the bypass route in some way and over 800 arrests were made. The cost of policing the protest (known as 'Operation Prospect' and run jointly by Thames Valley Police and Hampshire Constabulary) had reached approximately £5 million by December 1996. An additional £30 million was spent on private security guards, security fencing, and security lighting while the works were in progress, of which only £7 million was budgeted for in the original contract. (Sourced from Wikipedia) |
Tree Nymph (Dryad) - pencil drawing
Uprooted I, II and III 2019
These three digitally manipulated photographs represent the essence of the three worlds for the British and Celtic Shamanic tradition
Red represents Holly, the Upperworld and the Maiden,
White represents Mistletoe, the Middleworld and the Mother
Black represents Ivy, the Lowerworld and the Crone.
Red represents Holly, the Upperworld and the Maiden,
White represents Mistletoe, the Middleworld and the Mother
Black represents Ivy, the Lowerworld and the Crone.
Ogham (with Ogham Chart) - 20 Trees 2019
The Ogham is an ancient alphabet thought to originate from the 4th century, some believing as far back as the 1st Century. Considered Celtic in origin, each letter corresponds to a particular tree with corresponding meanings attached. The 20 wooden staves were inspired by the writings of Elen Sentier and are a first step to my understanding of this script. Each stave represents a particular letter – on the base – and each spell out the name of the corresponding tree in Ogham.
Tree Magic 2019
This piece was the result of a Shamanic Journey where I was inspired to let go and be more fluid with my life and my work, to ‘go with the flow’. A painter for many years, I decided to move out of my comfort zone and create this small installation, an altar, a celebration of the tree. The two inscribed wooden sticks spell out Tree Magic in Ogham, the rest is for you to muse upon.
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