‘More trees, Less assholes’.

I am currently working on a project called: ‘More Trees, Less Assholes’. This project consists of me making copies of tree trunks. These replicas of tree trunks, a work in progress, are latex based, tree trunk prints. This project that I started some while back grew out of my fascination for trees. The life of the tree is a wonderful universe; both above and below ground. Trees existed millions of years ago and made our existence possible. History teaches us that 'civilization' that blindly exploited the earth and forests, only went down due to climate extremes, soil erosion, .... was this only due to the deterioration of the climate and the increasing erosion that followed? Or does the disappearance of the tree networks make the world so much more difficult to live in for other species, including humans? To restore tree networks, people must relearn how to let trees grow old. Trees are an essence of life. They act as water managers, biodiversity promoters, air filters and heat absorbers and that is why we should cherish them and take good care of them. This is how the idea was born to archive old tree trunks and present them in an ongoing art project. I want to give the tree a stage, because it’s our route companion. ‘One should let things have their own, silent undisturbed development, that comes deeply from within and cannot be forced or accelerated by anything. All are full-born and then bear. Maturing as the tree that does not push its saps and stands staunchly in the storms of spring, without fear that after it perhaps a summer would not come. Yet it comes!’ (Rainer Maria Rilke uit ‘Was mich bewegt’)

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