I

discarded fabric
spiralled into growth rings
each colour-circle a once worn garment
best dress beside pyjamas alongside jeans
large eyes of spaceblack holes
sucking all into nothingness

II

cut a tree       see how old it is      it won’t get any older

III

five circular floor mats
not touching      not intersecting
Italy in shut down      health system in crisis
physical distancing      hygienic airlock
less chance of catching the contagion
as universe worn fragile       thin

IV

rise & fall of  sun      moon
circadian rhythm
a curve traced over sky
the last positioned below the others
weight dictated by gravity

V

spiralling thoughts about trees
our existence depends on them
growth circles       circle of life
birth to death to compost
giving Earth ourselves
to enrich & nourish soil
enabling trees to grow tall      strong

© C Baker 2020

In response to exhibition: Tree Conversations : Networking with the Wood-Wide-Web, installation view, 2020. Image courtesy Wagga Wagga Art Gallery.



multiple views

after exhibition Tree Conversations : Networking with the Wood-Wide-Web

tubular cream thoughts
drip from the ceiling
chains of neurons linking

tin cans of recycled paper
stumps become stepping-stones
a footstep apart

falling leaves my thoughts
woven into life
wall-hangings in grape green orange

keep still as birds feed off shoulders
getting pooped on “good luck”
but try washing it from clean sheets

sounds of life in bird calls
dip & soar      pulsate & click
a Morse code melody

8 sleeves      8 cufflinks
shirts sacrificed to art
birds & land sacrificed to the economy

cable mesh sleeving speaks
frayed tendril communications
& we’re still waiting for the NBN

run fingers over textured paint
pinecone language read by touch
shadow & light calligraphy

© C Baker 2020

ribbons of dialogue

notes strung on music stave
words legible or blurred
starlings on electricity wires
poetic whimsy as shadows on white walls
this monochrome depiction
conduit between human       plant

free-machined conversation
filaments attaching us to them
a banner of delicate conversation      fluttering
uneven placement of genetic codes
DNA specific to species
open discussions offer no solutions
not everything ends neatly

how does it feel to absorb nutrients from soil
are you invigorated as sap flows within phloem/ xylem
human equivalent of arteries/veins
life blood coursing through tree & human
all in it together

© C Baker 2020