1999- 2024
Oil on canvas
6x4ft
ENQUIRE
The relict trees of Shetland form a timeless link to the past
Shetland would once have been covered with trees like the Rowan, Aspen, Downy Birch, Hazel , Willow and low growing Juniper until they were mostly cleared from the land on various fronts. Pollen counts in peatland show the first decline starting around 6000 years ago, with a mass clearance around 3000 years ago which is echoed in the sudden appearance of lots of charcoal in the pollen count. These would presumably have been the same people that built the broch’s, clearing land for agriculture and using wood for fuel as well as building material. During the clearances the 17th and 18th centuries the land was given over to more profitable sheep farming ,with the destruction of the native vegetation intensified and has continued to the present day.
However a handful of trees have despite the odds clung on for life , surviving in inaccessible places like steep cliff sides or on islands in lochs. Having survived for through the millennia they are powerful symbols of strength and the vitality of life , that have able to hold on despite the attacks on many fronts. Compared to the lush large trees found on the mainland, these relicts are often disappointing to see, especially after long walks and hours of searching, because they are usually small. However, in their own way these are the ‘Trees of Life’ that have entered my paintings each tree emanating a life affirming presence against the backdrop of the depleted in the landscape they live in.
In many parts of Shetland the water still flows pure and strong and against the global back drop where clean water is increasingly scarce Shetland has also been the place where I have discovered the symbolic ‘Rivers of Life’ that have usually been expressed in pools of luminous cobalt turquoise pigment.