The tree bark figures I create are meant to represent the characteristics shared by trees and humans. The skin of the figure is created with the "skin" of a tree. Being classified into groups, naturally exfoliating our skin/bark, having roots and uprooting ourselves/being uprooted, hosting other living organisms, weeping, having limbs and being susceptible to diseases, are some of the common characteristics I address in the series.
I construct the sculptures by piecing together tree bark that I have collected from shelter belts and the forest floor. While gathering the materials, I am placed in an environment where I am forced to consider my relationship with the trees, which leads to the ideas in my pieces. I often use materials from specific types of trees with specific
characteristics to communicate the various concepts. After a sculpture is complete, I dip it into an acrylic polyurethane for added strength and to preserve the natural materials.
