Category Archives: Memory Palace of Trees

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#10 Forest Breath – Tree Story

 

Forest Breath Video #10

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I first encountered  the “Forest Breath” concept when reading David Haskell’s book  “Songs of Trees”. He was discussing the Formosa Pine  and I thought it a fascinating perception that “air is 400 millions years of forest breath”.

You might  wonder  how many times is it possible for  an oxygen  atom  to be recycled  after numerous binding and cleaving,  before it gets ” too old” or if even  there is such a thing as an atom getting old? 

Nevertheless , these basic atoms pass in and out of different life forms  as life evolved on earth. Where will the balance  of this  gas exchange lie  as the globes forests continue to be decimated at break neck speed . 

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Open Call for your tree story on video

Memory Palace of Trees is socio- ecological art practice which invites your participation to tell a story (or give some kind of information) about trees. It is a social enquiry of how to live better with the planet and with people by sharing tree stories.

Memory Palace of Trees will continue throughout 2022. The submissions are video format. If you have a story you can tell in less than a minute , please find your favorite tree and video yourself on your phone telling the story. I can help with adding the English or Chinese subtitles. Please ensure the sound quality of your recording is clear as possible . If you have any questions about this please ask . Also, If you are in Beijing I can meet up with you and assist in the filming .

Looking forward to hearing from you.I can be contacted directly on this platform.

 

Video 1： Empty Tendrils by Yvette Stride

Video 2：Pomegranate Tree by Han Chao

Video 3：Trees are Like Humans by Jenny Hong

Video 4：Old Ash A real survivor by Gillian Cussen

Video 5：Tree Rings of Life by Wang Ligeng

Video 6：A very Weird Elf by Zhu Jinghua

Video 7：Old Crabapple of Wenhua Dian by Matthew Hu

Video 8:   Standing Fast by Joseph Stewart 

Video 9:  Feeling Good  – Tree Song  by Nam

 

I am currently gathering tree stories in the format of one minute videos.  In  January 2020 I collected stories in written format .

Most of these are personal stories.  Submissions came from a range of different people in the US, Europe, Australia and Asia including a children’s writer, poets, dendrologists, artists, a dancer, a forester, an ant forest app user, photographers, academics and more. 

See further down this page for these links. 

Gingko Palace  Sucrose Series 83 x 120 cm print on Aluminium  Niamh Cunningham 2020 (week 15)

 

The Second Beech  Niamh Cunningham 倪芙瑞莲2020 (week 17 of the Memory Palace of Trees)

Throughout 2020 different peoples tree stories were gathered from various people writers , artists, foresters , poets, and other people .

Ice Willow , Sucrose 8.7.2020 Print on Aluminium , Niamh Cunningham -Kosimas Willow Story 

Memory Palace of Tree Stories began in January 2020. Throughout 2020 different peoples tree stories were gathered from various people writers , artists, foresters , poets, and other people .

Chestnut – Park Tree Sucrose Series original Sucrose 50 x 50 cm  Niamh Cunningham 2020 (week 12)

 

Open Call for your tree story on video 

Memory Palace of Trees will continue in 2022. This year the submissions will be in video format. If you have a story you can tell in less than a minute (less than 60 seconds), please  find your favorite tree sit under it and video yourself  on your phone telling the story. I can help with the editing and add the English or Chinese subtitles.  Please ensure the sound quality of your recording is clear.  If you are in Beijing I can come and video you if you wish. Please ask if you have any questions about this. 

Looking forward to hearing from you.  Please email me at niamh@niamhcunningham.com

 

 

Jinan Tree Song  Sucrose Series, print on aluminium 158 x 120cm  Niamh Cunningham 2020

 

Here is a one minute video clip  for the November  2020 tree story . 

Ladybird of DongXiaokou (6 min 40 secs) video Niamh Cunningham 2020   Dancer: Zhang Yi , Music Credit: Ciorras 

 


Overview of Memory Palace of Tree Stories

 

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树之记忆宫殿-视频 邀请函：分享树的故事

欢迎来到树之记忆宫殿，在这里你可以分享自己关于树的故事。
过去这一年是艰难的一年，我们中许多人都重新衡量了我们自身与自然的关系，无论是作为个人还是作为全球化社会的一部分。
在新冠大流行期间，我向世界各地的人们收集树木的故事，其中有诗人、画家、森林学家、树木学家、艺术家、儿童作家和其他各种各样的人。
你可以在 “树之记忆宫殿2020” 阅读这些故事。

今年树的故事是一分钟视频形式。

 

 

 

如果你愿意分享一个关于树的故事，我很高兴把它加入到树之记忆宫殿2021中。我可以给你的视频加上中文字幕。

如果你的故事之后被选中参加展览或做成装置，我会联系并告诉你相关消息。

花一些时间想一想你想说什么，找到一棵好的树坐下来，把你的故事讲给我们听。不过还想提醒你一下，视频时长不超过60秒，这个时间非常短！

 

可以直接在这个平台上联系我，也可以在网站最后一页查询页面（ENQUIRE）上联系我。

 

我可以帮忙编辑并添加英文或中文字幕。请确保您的录音音质清晰。如果对此有任何问题，尽管提问。

 

 

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Memory Palace of Trees -the videos……. a call for your tree story

 

Welcome to the Memory Palace of Trees, a place where you can share your tree story.

It has been a tough year and many of us have remeasured our relationship with nature, both as individuals and as a global society .

Throughout the pandemic I have collected tree stories from people all over the world, including poets , painters , a  forester, a  dendrologist , artists, a children’s writer  and all kinds of other people .

 You can see  last years collection of stories in Memory Palace of Trees 2020 here .

This year the tree stories are in the form of a one minute video.

 

If you have a tree story to share I would love to add it to the Memory Palace of Trees 2021.  I can add Chinese/English  subtitles to your video.

If your tree story is later selected for future exhibitions or installations I will contact you to let you know.

Take some time to think about what you want to say , find a good tree to sit under and share your story.  Just to let you know under 60 seconds is a very short time!

I can be contacted directly on this platform or on the last page the enquiry page on my website.

 

Really looking forward to hearing from you .  Please ask if you have any questions about this. 

 

Memory Palace of Trees is a socio -ecological art practice which invites your participating to tell a story (or give some kind of information) about Trees. It is a social enquiry of how to live better with the planet and with people and other living beings. You are cordially invited to tell me your story of a tree or trees.  I would love to hear from you .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Memory Palace of Trees – an overview

 

Web of fabulous grass, sucrose series, Niamh Cunningham 2018 

Memory Palace of Trees:

In October 2019  after reading the Pulitzer prize winning book ‘The OverStory’ by Richard Powers I started my plans for the socio-eco art practice ‘The Memory Palace of Trees’. It began in January 2020 at a time when the pandemic was just about to reveal itself as the most urgent global emergency of our lifetime. The pandemic is very much part of our ecological crisis and how we ‘utilize’ the natural world.  Throughout a most turbulent year, people worldwide have reappraised their relationship and dependance on the natural world. Many have turned to nature to claim a space of sanctity and sanity and some people have shared their stories with us in the Memory Palace of Trees.  

Gingko Palace  Sucrose Series 83 x 120 cm print on Aluminium  Niamh Cunningham 2020 (week 15)

Most of these are personal stories.  Submissions came from a range of different people in the US, Europe, Australia and Asia including a children’s writer, poets, dendrologists, artists, a dancer, a forester, an ant forest app user, photographers, academics and more

Ginkgo Palace UV print on Aluminium 80 x 120 cm  Niamh Cunningham  2020 

…..many of these stories inspired the makings of new artworks .

 

Here is a one minute video clip of the artwork for the November tree story . 

Ladybird of DongXiaokou (6 min 40 secs) video Niamh Cunningham 2020   Dancer: Zhang Yi , Music Credit: Ciorras 

 

I want to say a huge THANK YOU to ALL contributors and I will be in contact soon to thank each of you properly. Your stories will act as important stations (or installations) in the Memory Palace of Trees and will be a part of larger future artworks

 

 

 

The Second Beech  Niamh Cunningham 倪芙瑞莲2020 (week 17 of the Memory Palace of Trees)

Ice Willow , Sucrose 8.7.2020 Print on Aluminium , Niamh Cunningham -Kosimas Willow Story 

 

 

 

Chestnut – Park Tree Sucrose Series original Sucrose 50 x 50 cm  Niamh Cunningham 2020 (week 12)

 

 

 

What is a memory palace?

This is a map of a physical space with ‘stations’ containing information you want to remember, these stations are arranged in a linear journey . Here is a link to a  blog from last year  : Journey Image and Space the Memory palace workshops.

 

Open Call for your tree story on video 

Memory Palace of Trees will continue in 2021. This year the submissions will be in video format. If you have a story you can tell in less than a minute (less than 60 seconds), please  find your favorite tree sit under it and video yourself  on your phone telling the story. I can help with the editing and add the English or Chinese subtitles.  Please ensure the sound quality of your recording is clear.  If you are in Beijing I can come and video you if you wish. Please ask if you have any questions about this. 

Looking forward to hearing from you.  Please email me at niamh@niamhcunningham.com

 

 

Jinan Tree Song  Sucrose Series, print on aluminium 158 x 120cm  Niamh Cunningham 2020
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December – Ant Forest – pushing back the desert

Slash Pine-Ant Forest( GFP on LB under UV in light )
Niamh Cunningham 2020 in collaboration with IPE Microbe Eco Art project.

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Note : Slash Pine is one of the many species you can choose as your real life tree

We have a special tree feature for  December Memory Palace of Trees ! We talk with Iris Ye who is a user of a green initiative embedded in the Alipay App. Ant Forest inspires over 500 million users to fine tune their daily habits by reducing their carbon footprint.  The green energy acquired can then be used to ‘feed’ a virtual tree and grow to maturity. Once mature, you can then convert that virtual tree into a real-life tree planted by an NGO in an arid area of China.

 

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Launched in August 2016 Alipay Ant Forest encourages users to adopt low carbon activities such as: paying utility bills online, walking, or taking public transportation and renting a bike  to get to work instead of driving.  Also it encourages recycling old home appliances and clothes instead of throwing them in the landfill. You can also opt not to use single use chopsticks while ordering take-out food.

 

After a user logs on to Alipay Ant Forest, these low carbon habits can earn the user virtual green energy points that can then be used to grow a virtual tree on the user’s mobile phone. The interactive design in the app also allows a user to water his or her friend’s tree or plant a tree together with a lover or family members.

 

With enough energy points, the virtual tree can be converted into a real tree and planted in desertified areas in China, including Gansu, Qinhai, and Shanxi province, by Alipay and its philanthropic partners such as SEE Foundation (Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology). In the past four years, over 200 million trees have been planted in  these areas.

 

Haloxylon ammondendron planted by Alipay Ant Forest in arid land, China

There are many types of trees a user can choose to plant, from Hedysarum Scoparium, Sea Buckthorn to Haloxylon Ammodendron, each needing a different amount of green energy points for real life conversion.

 

Alipay Ant Forest also enables users to check on their trees in real-time on their mobile phone. Electronic scarecrows are scattered in the Forest to shoot photos and sends them back in real-time. Ant Forest also organizes offline trips for users to visit their Forest in spring. 

Iris Ye Dec 2020

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Slash Pine-Ant Forest 携手防治荒漠( GFP on LB media  in visible light )

Niamh Cunningham 2020 in collaboration with IPE Microbe Eco Art project.

(*I will write more about the exciting IPE Microbe Eco Art Project in 2021)

 

I have started to use the Alipay Ant Forest App recently, I am trying to collect enough energy to plant a Salix Mongolica which appears to be an impressive desert tree.  So far I have earned a humble almost two and a half Kgs of green energy.

If you are a user of the Ant Forest App and have some advice on how I might optimize collecting  green energy for this app I would love to hear from you .

 

links for further reading 

UNChampions Earth Award 

UN Global Climate Change 

 

 

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(Many thanks also to  printer Mr Xièbǎozhōng 谢宝忠from Ordos for the typeset units used in the above works which he kindly gifted to me in 2017 during the Paper Supreme Ordos exhibition, I am so pleased to be able to use them for these artworks. )

 

 

Memory Palace of Trees is socio- ecological art practice which invites your participation to tell a story (or give some kind of information) about trees. It is a social enquiry of how to live better with the planet and with people by sharing stories. Throughout 2020 various stories from different people have been posted here on this blog. For 2021 I will be videoing people telling a one minute tree story under their favourite tree here in Beijing. If you are not in Beijing you can send me your video and I will post it. You are cordially invited to tell me your story of a tree or trees. (email : niamh@niamhcunningham.com) I would love to hear from you.

 

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November- Dances with Trees

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Delighted to feature a tree dance story this month. I met Zhang Yi a month ago at a contact improv performance and was thrilled when she agreed to come to my favourite woods to help make a video.  Special thanks also to Robert Harvey and Ciorras for permission to use the music for this video.

Ladybird of Dongxiaokou 6m40s video Niamh Cunningham 2020

 

Youtube link to video : 

Youku link 

 

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I write this sitting under the shade of a big tree.  I seem to have a natural connection.  It is as if I want to protect it and at the same time be protected by it. But language can only go so far. I like to hug the tree and lean against it, as if giving myself to it. Sometimes when I lean on it, I feel a kind of steadiness, a kind of stability, a real type of support. Sometimes when I see it damaged, I also feel sad. Once I saw a pile of tree branches being cut down on the side of the road. Sometimes I see people wrapping light strips around them. I feel both helpless and apologetic… I like to hear their rustling sounds like copper bells when they are blown by the wind. I like watching them dance naturally with the wind.

      Trees also have a slow steady flow of energy. By steadying myself for a while, I feel that my energy is also stable and orderly. Observing it, I see the silent tension of life. It’ s quiet growth can withstand time. I have to live with the four seasons. There are times the wind will move and the wind will be quiet.

      I have a deep admiration for nature, and often a kind of joy. I feel that we belong to nature and we are part of it…

 

Contact and Improvisation:

Last winter I saw people moving freely while dancing in a way of communicating with each other, I saw people using their bodies to exchange weight, support, and play together.  Being in a relaxed state in the present moment allows “Contact Improvisation” to happen.  I see a certain kind of “relationship”, between people and the environment, and between people and nature.” A state of symbiosis. Sometimes I dance alone in the empty playground, in the soft ground, under the tree, in the sun, I feel both “independent” and “dependent”. Since I was young, I used to watch myself dancing in the mirror .I vaguely remember this blurry image of my younger self moving. The body may be my first home. I live in it in this way, watching my every move and slowly getting to know myself.

Zhang Yi Nov 2020

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Zhang Yi is an contact improvisation dancer here in Beijing , she has been a fitness instructor for the past ten years.

Improv contact dancer Zhang Yi

Memory Palace of Trees 2020 is socio- ecological art practice which invites your participation to tell a story (or give some kind of information) about trees. It is a social enquiry of how to live better with the planet and with people by simply sharing stories. You are cordially invited to tell me your story of a tree or trees. (email : niamh@niamhcunningham.com) I would love to hear from you. Throughout 2020 a story will be posted with either an artwork already made or perhaps your story will inspire me to make a new work!

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October – Kampong Coconuts

Fujairah Wadi (small) 34 x 45cm oil on canvas Niamh Cunningham 2007

 

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This month’s story comes from my old friend Trebas.  We used to be neighbours over 15 years ago when living in Dubai. I match a painting of a wadi in the emirate of Fujairah from those days living in the UAE with her evocative childhood memories of her grandfather’s coconut farm in Singapore.

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Kampong  Coconuts

 

My earliest memories of trees are of coconut trees. I grew up in a kampong which was a rural village. My grandfather owned lands where coconut trees grew. I remembered workers going around with long tools and a monkey to harvest the fruits. It was fascinating to watch humans & animal working in tandem together. Till today, I am still amazed that not once were they hit by falling coconuts! Before being sold or consumed these harvested fruits became children’s toys. I remember playing among the small mountains of coconuts with my siblings & cousins, effortlessly climbing up and down and handling the fruits with agility and balance that only children have. No worries about harmful sunrays or the coconuts falling on our slipper clad feet! My favourite part was being allowed to enjoy the fresh fruit and juice. Although the juice was usually warm it was surprisingly refreshing.

Ahh. I didn’t appreciate such simple life luxury till we moved away. Unlike the children, the womenfolk in the family has a less carefree relationship with the husks of the fruit. Yes, the tough fibers of a coconut husk are great for scrubbing away grime but they made such a mess. The husks used to provide fuel for cooking produced so much smoke & soot. I can still recall my exhausted mother wiping soot from her face!

Was it the ignorance of a child and the simple acceptance of way of life, neither had I questioned the ethical issue of coconuts being harvested by animals. The monkey had been tethered to the handler, yet they had always looked so happy. I had never once witnessed an abuse. However, I am now glad to see and support companies doing away with monkey labour in their harvesting.

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Trebas Kwek, is a chartered accountant in Singapore

Kampong house in Singapore circa 70’s

Memory Palace of Trees 2020 is socio- ecological art practice which invites your participation to tell a story (or give some kind of information) about trees. It is a social enquiry of how to live better with the planet and with people by simply sharing stories. You are cordially invited to tell me your story of a tree or trees. (email : niamh@niamhcunningham.com) I would love to hear from you. Throughout 2020 a story will be posted with either an artwork already made or perhaps your story will inspire me to make a new work!

 

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The Pattern that Connects

What an unusual opportunity to be able to show work at this time. ‘The Pattern that Connects ‘ is a duo exhibition with woodcut artist Ma Liangfen from Cangzhou academy of Painting , Hebei. The exhibition opened (26/9/2020) at Dong Yue Art Musuem in Chaoyangmenwai . 

 

 

Thank you to Therese Healy , acting head of Mission at the Embassy of Ireland who spoke at the opening . Also to Wang YueZhou from Cangzhou Federation of Literary and Art Circles. Media figure Ms Chen Bing gracefully presented as Master of Ceremony . Thank you also to academic curator  Zeng Luhong  for his exhibition essay and media coverage and special gratitude to fellow artist Ma Liangfen whom I really enjoyed getting to know and learn from over the past two weeks. A big thank you to Yuan QiuLai director of Dong Yue Art Musuem with whom we had numerous cross cultural exhibitions over the past six years. The exhibition focusses on Nature , explores the human relationship with Nature and also examines  aspects of the ecological emergency . 

In January 2020 I began collecting written submissions on any aspect of trees for my blog “The Memory Palace of Trees” gathering stories from poets, childrens writers, dendrologists and other people across the globe. This socio-eco practice highlights the interdependence between trees and people and explores the place it might take us. 

Here are some artworks from earlier stories in the year. 

Forrester Anna Finke’s interesting passion for climbing trees

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Environmental educator Carrissa Welton’s story “Roots of Recovery” linked to the Ginkgo Sucrose work

Barrow Trance 

The story for ‘Trees can Communicate’ was linked to artwork on Barrow river reflections.


Joshua’s tree the Hawthorne with the painting Piyos view

WU Yiqiangs 吴以强 story of artists replanting the Swan Goose Forest

Mayfield 4am 凌晨4点 80 x 60cm Niamh Cunningham 倪芙瑞莲2014

‘The tree in your Backyard Yard’ story is matched with Mayfield 4am.

When taking some visitors yesterday on a tour of the exhibition we were talking about shared DNA , how we share 25% of our DNA with trees, Shared DNA of all lifeforms on earth are also part of the pattern that connects. 

北京公共汽车站Beijing-Bus-Stop-132x-90-cm-oil-on-canvas Niamh-Cunningham倪芙瑞莲 2014

 

The funny poem by Pat Ingoldsby thinking about a wooden telegraph pole next to a bus stop match with painting Beijing Bus Stop

 

New developments on the sucrose series have extended to selected  UV prints on aluminium  . I have also shown some original sucroses which are not immediately  easy  to identify with the earlier process stages.  This work visualizes the transformations that occur during crystalisation as a metaphor for the ever present ecological metamorphosis. 

Sucroses in the original form

Tree Song Jinan, sucrose series, UV print on Aluminium 200x 100cm Niamh Cunningham 2020

 

There are also some figures from my  2019  Portrait series most of these have never been exhibited before. 

 

There are also some figures from my  2019  Portrait series. 

Here is a link to view more details on the portrait project . 

Ma Liangfen 马良分

 

Ma Liangfen’s expansive collection of woodcut boards cover journeys of the natural world across China. There are a number of prints on paper including some reverse colour prints where only one board was used . I asked her about her affinity to cats and she told me had no cat at home but loved observing the independence of the wild cats exploring at leisure. Other works explore unexpected thoughts and fantasies creating new worlds within the realm of reality . 

 

 

 

Here are more in depth links to her work 

Ma Liangfen link 1 

Ma Liangfen link 2 

 

Exhibition Media Doc link 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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September _ Kosima’s corkscrew willow

Willow- Sucrose series (11.8) UV print on Aluminium 120x160cm Niamh Cunningham 2020 

 

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Willow- Sucrose series (11.8) UV print on Aluminium 120x160cm Niamh Cunningham 2020 

(This artwork is currently exhibited at The Pattern that Connects at Dong Yue art Museum BJ  until Oct 3 2020)

My friend Kosima is a Mother Earth kind of gal. She is a fountain of knowledge on matters ranging from where best to hike outside Beijing to what kind of non harmful detergents to use in the house. Lately we have been chatting about the willow tree.

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Kosimas corkscrew willow

Willows have always been my special friends, a weeping willow that would greet me when walking first to kindergarten and then school, its branches touching the ground, inviting a child to dive under immediately feel its protecting softness.

When we moved house, I so much wished for a big weeping willow tree behind our house – and indeed we did plant it. I remember It costing 20 DM at the time. Perhaps I even paid for it from my own money. And it is still standing proud with benches my father built, circling around its big dark trunk.

Behind the house even further there were some craggy willow trees, their branches holding on to each other, calling me to find refuge on their broad easy to climb bark where I would often read books.

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Later on in life,  I moved to China and when we moved to our new courtyard it was absolutely barren.

Soon after my mother arrived for the children’s easter holidays, bringing easter egg paints and chocolate eggs – and most excitingly a branch of a corkscrew willow. It served to display our easter egg creations of hand painted blown out eggs shells. During the time she visited, the branch started to grow roots in the vase just as she had hoped. So just before she left for Germany, she planted the little sapling in our courtyard, on the west side of the entrance (just realizing that is actually the direction of Germany …)

The tree grew well throughout that summer, hardened in its first ice cold Beijing winter  – and ever since fully adapted to the local climate. It has grown so tall that we cut it back a year ago to avoid breakage from strong winds. 

Its graceful elegant leaves and soft curly branches contrast dramatically with its strong dark core, a double stem. It gracefully and sincerely represents the presence of my mother.

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Memory Palace of Trees 2020 is socio- ecological art practice which invites your participation to tell a story (or give some kind of information) about trees. It is a social enquiry of how to live better with the planet and with people by simply sharing stories. You are cordially invited to tell me your story of a tree or trees. (email : niamh@niamhcunningham.com) I would love to hear from you. Throughout 2020 a story will be posted with either an artwork already made or perhaps your story will inspire me to make a new work!

 

 

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Your Invitation to ‘Shared Destiny – The Pattern that Connects

 

 

 

You are cordially invited to the opening of  ” Shared Destiny -The Pattern that Connects ” a duo exhibition with woodcut artist Ma Liangfen and myself ….. focussing on nature and our relationship with it . …..opens on Saturday 3.30 at Dong Yue Art Museum Beijing . The exhibition runs till Oct 3 . If you cant make the opening but would like to visit another day please contact me and I will try to be there to give you the personal tour. 

 

 

 

Here is the link to exhibition document preface written by academic curator Zeng Luhong.