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Lee Tracy |
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RED TREES An artwork intended to confront loss and raise questions about stewardship, commitment and hope. A resident of the northwestern United States bought land that had first been sold for its logging rights. In August 2000 he made this land available for the installation of Red Trees, despite having reservations about revealing what is less disquieting when concealed. In phase I of Red Trees, fabric was laid and secured over tree stumps razed for consumption. The bright red fabric elicits the memory of the forest's lost grandeur by positioning each tree in the imagination. It also acts as a shroud for the deceased or a protective cloth for a wound. The red coverings signify loss as well as life blood. The tree stumps remained shrouded for one year. During that time, the fabric aged through exposure to the elements. In August 2001, over 300 'shrouds', altered by natural occurrences, returned to Chicago. Each piece of fabric is imprinted with the unique impression of an individual tree, making visible that which was invisible. The vulnerability and value of all life, including human life, is elicited metaphorically. Photos: Phase I In phase II of Red Trees, the shrouds are exhibited in a room that accommodates many of them. Each shroud, fastened at the top is blown by air currents that create a moving room. The moving room of shrouds contains records of death, yet breathes with life. Destruction and loss are poignantly transformed into beauty and hope. Photos: Phase II "Room of Shrouds" video by Marco Ferrari In October 2002 phase III of Red Trees, a public memorial to the forest was erected. The shrouds were again exposed to the element of nature by interacting with wind while hanging on a public structure, several stories high, outdoors. The installation structure was the stand of a fully functional water tower, itself an icon, as most others have been dismantled. At night, the Red Trees structure was lit from within. As a public installation, Red Trees provides a demonstration that reveals what often eludes us: the awareness of loss, yet the beauty and hope that can originate from confronting and acknowledging that which is lost. Photos: Phase III In phase IV of Red Trees, fall of 2003, the shrouds that have been exposed to three elements; earth, sun (fire) and wind (air) are then exposed to water. The shrouds were taken to the east coast to be cleansed in water from a pristine lake in Maine, thus linking the coasts via Chicago. The different regions (hidden wounded land, public place and serene setting) illustrate a unity while revealing the emotional trajectory of empathy, acknowledgment and commitment. Photos: Phase IV In phase V, numerous "shrouds" are offered to the 5th element, ether, the space between us. Around a mound of red flowers, remnant shroud pieces tied to bamboo poles, return to ether as each fiber slowly dissipates in the breeze. Red Trees returning to where it began. Photos: Phase IV |
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Lee Tracy |