Two of twelve shadows
Made between 16 – 20 January 2023
Dumfriesshire

An oak tree that I pass by most days  and have worked with many times. The tree last produced leaves in 2021. It fell on January 15 of this year.  It has been a privilege to see this tree grow old and, unlike so many oaks which have recently been torn out of the ground by strong winds, the fall of this tree was less brutal – more a continuation of its life.

Weeks of rain were followed by a few days of dry, sunny and cold weather. I stood still alongside the fallen tree with the sun on my back and my shadow cast onto its trunk, branches and a nearby hawthorn bush – for between ninety and forty minutes each time, watching my shadow move in the direction the tree fell and the stream that flows beneath it. To make twelve shadows.  Two of which are shown here. One made as the sun rose and the other as it went down.