Welcome to Sentinel Trees, an exhibition of miniature art works from 13 artists and 9 authors.
Artist: Barbara Dougan Writer: Natalie Low
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| Barbara's artwork with a Japanese Maple |
It is below me, earth; it is above me, trees.
One day I lie on the green grass for too long,
long enough for the blades to feel alive and crawl over my edges.
The sky is full of sun, and my eyes empty of people.
Everything is a pastel pixelation, out of focus.
I have learnt I see better this way, without screwing up my head
and so I see you now - underground, underwater, under the air.
Normally you hide, between today and tomorrow.
It is below me, earth; it is above me, trees.
We are both pale and shivering, quivering.
If you stripped off my papery skin, would we be the same inside?
And what would I find in your memory in rings?
About the Writer
Natalie is a frequent contributor to CollectConnect and is a writer and a researcher.
About the Artist
'Linnet' is one of a series of films reflecting on
everyday immersions in a world of affective resonances, and how the body
comprehends the sensations it is open to at all moments. Through selective film
and sound recording and editing, the work aims to transfer an intensely
subjective exploration of an environment as an embodied experience for others.
This film records reflected trees in the lake formed in
the Linnet River at Ickworth, Suffolk, on a brilliant Autumn day.
Video and editing
Barbara Dougan, sound Conal Dougan
About the Bonsai
A classic bonsai subject this cut leaf Japanese Maple is about 12 years old. Japanese Maples or Acer Palmatum are one of the most common bonsai subjects and there are hundreds of cultivars world wide. They have attractive foilage, respond well to being pruned and display beautiful leaf colour in the autumn.
Artist: Ian Parker Writer: Lucy Furlong
Darkwood
Sentry, I creep
past you each day
as I walk home along grey pavements,
drag my hand across worn fences.
In the middle of the path,
roots wrestling with tarmac,
wild custodian in the suburb.
At night I fly into your branches,
sucked into your dark heartwood.
About the Writer
Writer, teacher and walking artist
About the Artist
Ian Parker was born in Wolverhampton and
lived in England, Guyana and Nigeria as a child. Educated at Wimbledon School
of Art, Kingston Polytechnic and the Royal Academy Schools, on graduating he
undertook fellowships and residencies at Cardiff Institute of Higher Education
and Newcastle Polytechnic. Primarily a painter, his work references the
vocabulary inherited from 20th century non-figurative practice within an
expanded notion of the nature and practice of painting. He has exhibited since
1977 at venues including the Hayward Gallery; Camden Arts Centre; Guildhall Art
Gallery, London; Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff; Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh
and Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam. More recent exhibitions include: Brute,
ARTHOUSE1, London (with Srin Surti); Supporting Material (With Amanda Loomes),
Herbert Read Gallery, UCA Canterbury; Sussex Open at Towner 2018, Towner
Art Gallery, Eastbourne and BLENDER, The Cello Factory, London (with Bryan
Benge and Srin Surti), 2020. He held full and part-time academic posts from
1980 until retiring as Head of School, School of Fine Art, UCA in 2015.
Bonsai
The Japanese word 'Bonsai' has no convenient translation into English. Harry Tomlinson in The Complete Book of Bonsai gives this accurate, but by his own admission, not very concise translation, 'A tree or shrub pruned in such a way so as to resemble a full-size tree, grown in a shallow container for artistic effect and as an impression of nature'.
