Echoes of trees, time and urban spaces
The study of a tree’s annual rings can teach us how old the tree is, what the growth was like throughout the years and seasons, or when events like forest fires have occurred. The echo of the life of the tree is encapsulated in the organism and is visible only after the felling of the tree. The city has a different type of annual rings, sometimes easy to read and materially manifested, sometimes hidden or completely vanished.
The work by Och Landskap is a projection of the annual rings of the one thousand years old Kvill Oak. Through the measurement of the dimensions of the tree and the visualisation of a hypothetical cross-section, an echo of the timeline of the tree’s long life is shown. The life experience of the tree is recontextualised by resituating it from Norra Kvill to Folkets Park. Points are placed on the timeline, which resonate with the dead or living trees of Malmö.
The work shows a historic echo but also looks to the future. By showing the dimensions of the Kvill Oak, Och Landskap demonstrate the value of the trees imposing size, lifespan and the, to humans, favorable qualities.
