Forest Drawings: dialogue between
Continuing my Forest Drawing practice, photos of trees being consumed by fungi establish the underpinning concept of these images. The trees are in a state of transformation, morphing from living citizens of the forest to the promise of new life-enriching soil. The drawn shapes layered over the photos are chromatic ‘translations’ of a text written by Jean Genet, ‘Dialogue Between the Sun and the Moon’. The colors employ a ‘chromatic alphabet’ (a=aquamarine, b=blue, c=crimson, d=dove-gray, e=emerald, etc.).
The ‘text’ in the left panel of each diptych is based on the original French writing; the corresponding translated English ‘text’ is in the right panel.
The pairings represent a singular thought looked at two different ways. In each diptych, the photos are of two faces of the same tree, and the ‘text’ overlays describe two different languages saying the same thing (with all of the cultural import translation engages).
