Loose leaf will be a series of “letters” on ceramic slabs resembling loose leaf paper. Sketches and writings on these pages will imagine correspondences and journal entries written by the trees in the reserve. These objects will be accompanied by a number of short videos to be accessed by a QR code on visitors personal devices. The videos will represent a combination of tree memories and social media posts on the tree experience for humans to understand. I plan to make 16-20 ceramic pieces and 4-6video shorts for the project. The ceramic pieces will be attached to stakes to hold them in place, QR codes would be placed similarly at the base of the tree on a staked sign. A map of the project would be available on either paper or online.
The inspiration for this project is twofold, driven by an interest in media and trees. My work often references out-of-date media to look at how technology shapes human interactions and sense of place. Paper and written letters are emblematic of an age society seems to want to leave behind because it is appears too unproductive, too quiet, too still. Video is sexier, more ephemeral and built for narcissists. The discovery of the tree communication system is relatively new to humans, and with it comes the suggestion that plants are social, intelligent and aware. This project would be a fictional look into translating tree language into our own, and to imagine what it is like to observe our world from a sensitive yet immovable place.
My video projects have always made character inanimate objects, but this project would be my first foray into listening to other living things. I very recently began sketching, reading and writing about trees. The text of the letters has not been written will require time with the trees in the reserve to complete. I take inspiration from literature, religious texts and pop culture references about tree sentience: from the tree of life to the tree of knowledge, from Daphne, to Ents and Birnam Wood. This project would be my first site specific one and so I am looking forward to having the landscape dictate my path.
