Installation View, Trying to Remember a Tree IV, It Takes Time, 2021.

Commissioned by The Public Art Trust.

A time based public art work that unveils the growth of a tree over a period of a year.

 

It Takes Time is a site-specific artwork that follows the growth of a single tree for a period of 12 months. The artist will select a tree to document from the park where the artwork is situated. The installation comprises a series of 12 light boxes. Every month, an image of the tree, as it grows, will be installed on the light box and revealed to the public. At the end of the year, the series, depicting the growth of a single tree in a year, will be revealed across 12 light boxes.

 

At the back of the light boxes will be a display of the text, “IT TAKES TIME”. The statement can refer to vegetative growth or more general ideas of change, evolution and recovery—transformations that require patience and close attention. The general message is that by paying closer attention to the environment and noticing small, subtle changes, we can become more deeply connected with the world. This work celebrates the small changes and documents them in a way that engages and uplifts park visitors. Each time, they may notice the illumination of a new light box, signifying a continuous process of growth and change, which is the hopeful message of this artwork. Nature has gone on before, is going on and will go on.