Carved love
On the right bank of the Seine (Paris) between the Pont Neuf and the Pont Royal, there are dozens of black poplars into which generations of lovers have carved their connection through numerous hearts and other symbols.
This drawing language in which culture and nature go together fascinates me because behind all those carved love signs lies a universe of emotions and personal histories. Each tree accumulates stories and emotions and therefore becomes a story itself: that of the collector. However, trees continue to grow undisturbed and the traces of these love rituals are absorbed into the bark, deforming and sinking into it. This drawing language forms the basis of my research.
Scripture carriers in a digital world
Carving trees as a sign of lasting love has always been around. It works like a second skin, the tree continues to grow and the signs get bigger. Our merger with the digital world has created a different approach to emotion and nature. Our awareness of the damage to the tree has ensured that this phenomenon has stopped. (We now hang locks on bridges) The trees are left behind like a dictionary. A writing medium of signs and symbols.
The tension between human patterns and nature’s patterns are inextricably linked. I want to translate this symbiosis visually in order to create something new.
I am currently working on an exhibition showing drawings inspired by these Parisian hieroglyphs.
The trees have to be cut down and I am getting a trunk to carve a sculpture from with the city 1/2 of Paris.
[Find more info below photos]
Humanity needs trees to survive
Trees and humans have traditionally been a duality, it is evident that humanity needs trees to survive. A tree knows no nationalities, races or genders. A tree is inclusive and non-judgmental. Perhaps that is why lovers carve their love in trees, as a precursor to their reproduction. It has a ritual character because of the repetition and the limited choice of symbolism: hearts and initials. It is also a public ritual that is irrevocable. Carving has variants in brands (of former slaves) or tattoos. The irreversibility and inseparability of marks made in the skin reflect the need for the absolute. Or: express a felt absoluteness of love because the tree will carry this sign with it as it lives, regardless of the life cycle of the loved ones. Because the tree reasonably outlives the lovers, the act of carving also contains an incantation. The love symbol will survive not only the death of the lovers themselves but also the possible demise of their love. The possible volatility of a feeling is lifted by the carving of a symbol. This act perpetuates an instantaneous reality. The here and now is given an unmistakable visibility that provides a desired guarantee for the future. Man can die, love can dry up, but the tree remains, like a silent colossus on the lovely Seine. Life is perpetuated, unlike in voodoo practices in which death is invoked. Carving living wood seems like a contradictory phenomenon in this digital world. All communication takes place via digital media and devices that serve social media. The value attached to capturing love in nature (however limited it may be in the urban environment of the Parisian inner city) suggests a historical awareness because it contains a compelling tendency towards Romanticism. The row of trees on the Seine takes on the nature of a sanctuary through the performance of the ritual. The trees form the pillars of a cathedral en plein air.
Thanks to
Ferry van der Vliet schreef een blog over dit project
31 Januari 2024
DE MAKERS; zij zijn de creatieven, de mensen met ideeën, kunstenaars, dromers, en de durfals met verbeelding, energie, ambitie en intuïtie om iets te creëren vanuit het niets. Ze brengen Parijs tot leven. Want wat zijn steden anders dan menselijke ecosystemen – netwerken – van mensen die gebouwen, monumenten, tuinen en straten tot leven brengen? Carla Rump is een van die Nederlandse stakeholders in het meest opwindende menselijke netwerk van Parijs. In Parijs maak ik kennis met haar en ontmoet haar als het ware backstage, om zo getuige te zijn van haar werkzame leven.
Lees verder over Hedendaagse Hiërogliefen op de website nederlanders.fr >>
