Grappling Tree by Tracey Guptill
Commissioned by Laura Levin
Inspired by the confession…
Artist Statement
I loved listening to this voice message. It is a work of art in and of itself. I resonate with this voice that is seeking solace in nature, that is finding themselves as... everything around them shuts down.
Immediately after hearing it, I was inspired to write the text of that voice, this character, having one of their conversations with a tree. This is something that I often do, converse with trees. I wanted to share some of the contents of the initial voicemail through this conversation.
The text changed little even as I came back to it in the following days. As I tried to add other conversations, I felt it took away from the simplicity of this one snapshot. It offers a picture of a relationship between this person and the tree. Though, with more time, I can see it developed as a full audio play. Or episodes.
I emphasized the concept of paradox as it is a central feature of this pandemic experience for me. The temporary shut down of economic imperatives driving much of our daily lives has brought freedom for some of us (amidst the anxiety) but significantly increased the vulnerability and suffering of many, while thousands are losing their lives.
It is a strange lens, to see our systems that cause so much destruction (to the planet and many communities) are not as inevitable as they seemed, however it is also these systems that are able to provide social security, access to relief funds. Is that a paradox?
This sentence is a lie. That's a paradox.