Wide angle view of the Torso sculpture, showing areas with the bark still in place and organic flowing carved forms otherwise, contrasted by sharp edges and the outlines of the bark. The texture of the beech wood is beautifully visible and the surface finish is semi-glossy with hard oil. Behind it is a white wall.
Same as before, but showing the 'backside'.

Torso

On Being Real

A hybrid sculpture where the tree and me each did our part to create the whole.

A freshly cut beech was the basis of this figure. I got in resonance with the two branch stumps and gave a body to it.

Many of us carry around scared over wounds - physical and psychical - that limit our movement and potential, hamper our expression or even leave us literally crippled in body and/or soul.
Other than trees, we can't grow new branches.
We have to make do with what we got.

But we need to recognise the wounds, acknowledge the pain, deal with the deformation. The worst we can do is trying to ignore it, gloss over it, pretend it isn't there.

Other than what we may think - that makes it worse, it festers under the surface and becomes a bloated shadow-self, that can make us lose our way completely.

Instead, let us be proud of our scars, the battles we survived.

When we own our deformation, we are free and beautiful.
And we see the more for it.
See beyond the masks and cosmetics, the false smiles and the pretend cool.
Can free ourselves from societal conventions and become real human beings.

Humanity needs us real.

Frontal view of the Torso sculpture, showing areas with the bark still in place and organic flowing carved forms otherwise, contrasted by sharp edges and the outlines of the bark. The texture of the beech wood is beautifully visible and the surface finish is semi-glossy with hard oil.
This and the following images are slightly rotated views of the Torso sculpture, so I won't describe it every time...
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
Image 7
Image 8
Image 9
Image 10
The last slide in the series, coming round full circle

Details

Close up view of a cracked knot on the shoulder of the Torso with a bright white wall behind, reflecting on the shiny surface.
Close up of the 'heart' region of the Torso where 3 edges meet. Partially visible is the shoulder with bark structure and the seam of the beech bark, where it shows it's inner grainy texture.
Close up of one of the 'arm stumps', where a branch was cut and bark grew over it, like scar tissue. The bark around it is folded and wrinkled.
Close up of a small knot in the beech wood, surrounded by the typical 'mirrors', radial grain structures that are typical for this species. They form interesting patters from the way the wood is sculpted.
Close up of a little knob growing out of the bark part of the sculpture. A white wall behind reflects on the shiny surface. Strong depth of field makes foreground and background blurry.
A close up of a big crack that formed on the front of the sculpture, which was carved from very fresh wood. Wood grain is covering the surface and in the upper right we see the edge of where the bark begins.
Close up of the lower part of the sculpture, where it is mounted on the cement base. The sun is shining from the right and throws a shadow, where the base is much darker
The Torso sculpture seen from above, showing the flat top area with one step in the middle from the original cutting of the tree and some cracks in focus and everything beneath more and more blurred by dept of field on a dark background.