All prints measure 46″ x 34″. They are what I call “pre-ambertypes,” made with vegetable inks printed digitally on tree bark (Mulberry) paper coated with ground mica and gum Arabic from 5″ x 7″ black-and-white negatives with artist-rendered color.
Can the oldest trees from two countries once at war tell us anything about war and survival?
In Vietnam, the oldest trees endure because they are taken care of and protected. Temple tree, palace tree, village tree, tomb tree, spirit’s tree. The Queen Tree is from the Cuc Phuong National Forest in North Vietnam. She was a sacred tree of the Mong people, predecessors of the current Vietnamese. She is 1,000 years old, quite ancient for the jungle. She was so revered that the native people cut circles just above her roots to enable them to take a piece of her home for their community altars, while at the same time not stopping her growth.
In America, the oldest trees survive because they are too difficult to find.
The Bristlecone Pine is from the Ancient Bristlecone National Forest near Bishop, California. She resides in the vicinity of the oldest dated tree in the world. She is the cousin of “Methuselah” who is 4,700 years old, or she herself may even be “Methuselah.” The Park Service is not telling. She has survived because of an amazing ability to conserve energy by shutting down most systems to feed only the newest branches.
“TREES AT SEA” VIDEO, “below, above, drown, swim” FROM CEILING PROJECTION FOR MILLENNIAL FOREST GALLERY INSTALLATION