2021, ink and watercolour pencil on paper, 238 x 178mm.

I found this scene in an alley beside a railway station. People had decided that this tree was impinging upon the human right of way so they lopped it, not bothering to remove the gnarly stump suspended five feet above the ground. Until that point it had enjoyed a sheltered spot to explore skywards and had integrated the fence into itself. The bark folded over the wires and the metal disappeared towards the heartwood. The grid warped as the tree pushed and tugged over many years. It reminded me of the tale of the tortoise and the hare. Human activity is sudden and triumphalist but often doesn’t finish the job, like the hare. The tree was working inexorably towards an unintentional victory and given enough time, light, and water, it would have dismantled the fence and diminished its ugly intrusion. A hedge instead of a fence would surely have been far superior as a barrier. Instead, thwarted, the race was cancelled mid-way through. Eventually subduction will dismantle even our grandest monuments and all of our boundaries. Until then why not make them beautiful instead of easy?

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