Tree Maps
In the summer of 2015, I photographed the bark of the centuries-old plane tree that stands majestically in the Guastalla garden in Milan. Many years ago, that mighty tree was inside the small garden of the elementary school I attended: the first Steiner School in Milan on Via Francesco Sforza. Under the reassuring and protective shade of the plane tree, I played during the long and carefree school recesses with my classmates. That tree watched us grow.
Thus, the Tree Maps series was born.
I took that first photograph on film. With the old Hasselblad 500 CM lent to me by my father. I didn't even intend to produce a series. I was only interested in that plane tree. The idea of the series would come later. Initially, I continued with the analog process and then proceeded with mixed mode: some shots in analog mode and others with digital technology. From the beginning, I chose to keep the black border of the slide, which is a distinctive mark of the analog frame (and of the first photograph in the Tree Maps series). To maintain the aesthetic consistency of the series (and above all to keep track of its origin), I chose to reproduce the border of the first photograph on all images, even on the digital ones. This is why the frame numbers always repeat identically (7 and 8) in most photographs.
Although they seem immobile to us, trees are living and dynamic organisms. Their immobility is apparent. Since ancient times and across all latitudes, humanity has attributed profound symbolic meanings (spiritual, sacred, and religious) to trees. The tree is a symbol of the continuous and unstoppable transformation of life and its cyclical nature between death and rebirth.
The tree connects the three levels of the cosmos: the underground where its roots sink; the surface of the Earth from which the trunk rises; the sky towards which the branches and top reach, attracted by the light of the Sun. The very structure of the tree evokes the ascent towards the sky (and the tension towards transcendence). The tree brings together all the elements: water circulating with the sap; the earth integrated into its body through the roots; the air nourishing its leaves; the fire that wood can fuel.
I like to observe trees. Contemplate them. I am fascinated by the shapes and colors visible on their bark: they make me think of ancient maps (of mysterious and fantastic territories).
