Some thoughts on the carving of a tree

Peter Adams
HERE are some photos of a solid 5.5 metre tall/ one ton sculpture I have just completed for an outdoor sculpture exhibition to be held in Denmark.

I thought I would share these with the TT readers and also offer some thoughts about my having carved a log of around 125 years old. (My mug shot is included to give some semblence of scale.)

Whether the Blue Gum log came from a pristine old growth forest or was regrowth doesn’t matter. What does matter, is whether or not this sculpture is worth the demise of a living tree.

It is a vexing question and something I take seriously and wrestle with constantly. My choice to carve such an old log might appear hypocritical to some. Being both a wood carver and environmentalist, I definitely feel squashed between a rock and a hard spot on this issue. My choice to carve the log can be rationalised by saying that the tree had already been cut down and was lying on the ground at the timber mill waiting to be cut up into boards when I bought it off the mill’s owner. Value adding for sure, but is this just condoning the bad practice of clear felling (I doubt the tree had been selectively logged and hauled out by oxen leaving little disturbance or little trace of its being felled).

I can get all poetic and say that a sculpture that enhances and brings beauty into an urban landscape certainly has a right/need to exist. But is there any human art more beautiful than the standing tree?

The Latin for the Blue Gum log is “Eucalyptus globulus”. In reference to this, at first I thought I could make a political statement and titled the iece “Globulus nopulpus tasmania”. But this overt anti-pulp mill stance, although possibly getting some media attention in Denmark, just belittles the stature and power of both the tree and the sculpture. Better to let the sculpture represent Tasmania by just standing tall and proud.

In the end, all I can do is to try and be creative with whatever material is at hand. I do desire the opportunity to continue making art that speaks for the earth and the human connection to this earth. However, should the government decree that all logging of old growth forests has to stop, I am more in favour of this than the present logging operations as practised by Forestry Tasmania. Surely, though, if our forests were truly managed in a sustainable manner ( as Peter Brenner described how the forests of Switzerland are managed in a past TT article: Sustainable forestry solutions exist ), than it can be a win-win situation for all.

I doubt that there are any clear, definitive answers to any of my concerns — or the concerns of the other contributors to this topic. The key in all this discussion, and the importance of the Tasmanian Times, is to keep posing the questions. Through the exchange of all viewpoints, some semblance of an elusive answer just might filter down. Whether we agree with our neighbours or not, we are all living on board the increasingly leaky ship Earth as it hurtles through the void of space.