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I moved to London three years ago from a small village in the countryside. Growing up, trees became markers and places were named through association, meeting friends at 'The sledging field' or by 'The climbing tree.' There was more than one field where we sledged and more than one tree that we climbed but we still all knew where we were to meet. Since moving to London and finding trees planted on many of our streets — a practise not undertaken in the countryside villages that I knew, these trees have become anonymous to me. I no longer know what many of them are and until I undertook this project I, like many others I have spoken to regarding Londons street trees admit to not even seeing them on a day to day level. |
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In the first stage of this project my work began to play with and challenge my perceptions of trees. I explored these ideas through a series of interventions on London streets which purposefully decreased the anonimity I felt that street trees have. Through placing walnuts in cherry trees and lining up small model trees along streets, despite of their scale these acts were instantly identified.
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| The next stage of this work pushed these ideas further through adding the dimension of association. I placed trees which had been adapted to have associations with the street names of where I placed them, for example, a tree for Fleet Street is now wrapped in newspaper, a tree on Chippendale Street is stripped bare and varnished. These associations are not only with the material or site but people too as with Cornelia Street having a tree wrapped in string. Whilst managing to decrease the anonymity I was forcing a way of knowing it and understanding it which raised questions about why these trees are the way they are. By acknowledgement they now have meaning. |
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| Through this process I soon realised the role of journeys (literally with the trees) and that of a trees life and growth needed some serious consideration. I felt that like a tree, for the project to develop it needed some roots. Through the integration of the maps I used to identify sites for my journeys I had created a 'new London'. It was this realisation that led me to the Westway in Ladbroke Grove for the next phase of this project where in previous projects the importance of journey intermingled with life, site and time had already been identified. |
