Expanded Artist Statement:

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Trees Are What Everyone Needs

Scrap wood, discarded saw blades, steel, nails, wood glue, projection-mapped video elements  

2024  

Price: 15 Billion Trees Annually

 

In my piece titled 'Trees are what everyone needs,' I explore the intricate connection between nature and human industry. Crafting frames from reclaimed scrap wood, featuring metal elements like saw blades, I aim to create a visual dialogue between the organic and mechanical worlds. The frames host embedded videos, projecting scenes ranging from a tree's vibrant life to the harsh reality of deforestation.

 

As viewers engage, they are enveloped in a multisensory experience—the rhythmic ticking of a clock, the raw sounds of saws, and the calming melody of nature's birds. The intent is to prompt reflection on the dual nature of trees, as both living beings and the expendable resources they are often marketed to us as.

 

The video narrative unfolds, starting with a spinning stump resembling a clock face, symbolizing the relentless passage of time. A bird in a tree references both cuckoo clocks and the symbiotic relationship between trees and nature. The logging machine mirrors a pendulum, emphasizing the continuous cycle of destruction and creation. Scenes of deforestation and the idealized beauty of untouched forests create a poignant contrast.

 

Incorporating edge grain details in the frames symbolizes the trees' memory in their rings, emphasizing their sentient nature. This piece serves as a commentary on the ongoing loss of global forests and the disregard for the intrinsic value of wood. It challenges viewers to reconsider the consequences of transforming majestic trees into mass-produced items like furniture and cookie cutter suburban homes.

 

By repurposing discarded wood scraps, I give them new meaning, honoring their past existence while mourning what they could have become. 'Trees are what everyone needs' is a personal testament to the urgent need for reevaluation and reverence for our planet's dwindling natural resources.