Broken beech tree

novar boundary beech 5

It’s five years since I first found this tree and I’ve drawn and photographed it every year since. Its fascinating twisted form was so interesting to draw, though so complex I struggled to make sense of it.  It’s on an old bank in a designed landscape laid out in the late 18th century, the area currently being used as a deer park – you can see how the roots on the right have had their bark removed by hungry grazers.

novar boundary beech snow    novar boundary beech branches

This year it has moved into it’s final phase of life – the winds have brought it down, the owners are removing most of its bulk and the stump that remains is rotting rapidly.  However, if allowed to remain it will continue to support life, including lichens, fungi, invertebrates and birds. It’s always a shock to see a large tree shattered and prone; like finding a dead animal there’s something very sad about the sight, but at the same time fascinating. It’s also a natural process which I don’t believe we should sentimentalise – I prefer to use it as an opportunity to make art which reflects on life and death as simple fact. 

novar boundary beech fallen

 

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