EXHIBITION 2008

In the beginning, the land was covered with ancient woodland,an unexplored maze of massive tree trunks and deep leaf litter.
Our ancestors made their home in these places, they learned to hunt and gather, to build shelters, and to venerate their gods.

They knew the ways of trees and timber, the strong staves of the yew for bows and spears, the oak for construction, the alder for shields, and so on. And they associated their gods with trees so that the power of a kingdom was vested in a great magical tree or branch, and this had to be protected.

As the trees were cut down, and the ancient forests cleared, part of that old knowledge retreated; nowadays the fairies live on in ring forts, along rivers, on wooded islands, wherever trees still have a chance to grow in peace. So the stands of woodland that survive are very special places, preserving an ancient awareness.
If we want to find Puck and the other spirits of the earth, we will be most likely to find them in wooland, the land of heart's desire.
We do not go to the woods in spirit only, we also go in our physical bodies to touch, see, smell and hear the great, patient forms. As children we took up the challenge and climbed for a place in the green, comforting shadows of the tree branches; we got away from the grown-ups and their anxious world.
Today we can return again, inspired by Carmen Garcia's art. to find a place among the trees for our spirits and our bodies.

Written by Sean Lysaght, author of '' The mouth of a river(2007), and ''Scarecrow'' (1998).