In 2014, already 7 years ago, I was invited to participate in a project called ‘Art & Trees’. With a little budget artists were asked to choose a tree in a specific region and make an artwork for it. I choose a freshly planted Acer Ginnala on the St. Jansplein in Moergestel (NL).
I had the idea to do something with the tree circle; when trees loose their leaves they create a circle, like a little carpet around their own trunk. I thought it would be nice to re-create this and that also the tree itself would over time and during the day add onto my work with its shadow and falling seeds & leaves. The ‘carpet’ I created from wood with layers and layers of different wood paints. If you walked around the circle, you would see how the Acer Ginnala, Maple tree, would transform through the seasons.
The organisation that invited me was new and unexperienced. They didn’t make a clear agreement about their tree-project with the local government, so I got an angry phone-call I had to remove the work or They Would! They, the local government, thought my artwork was some elaborate street-art and I had to remove it. It was only there a few weeks instead of the 6 months the organisation had planned…
The work never returned to its spot and stayed in my studio. When we moved to Utrecht in 2015, I donated my artwork to the local Intratuin. We did wonderful projects in Breda that were supported by the Intratuin, like the Front-lawn competition, and the owner was a big fan of Acers. He had a whole section specifically for these trees. So I gave him the work and he hang it there with a piece of Acer wood in the centre. I haven’t been there for a while, might be still there. Either way, it was great creating this work, and after 7 years, why not add it here to my website.
