JEFF SCHOFIELD, 2020
www.jeffschofield.net

A storm blew down a mulberry tree on the property just before my arrival at Residency 108. I spent the following month exploring this extreme weather event, and concepts of reuse and repair using fragments of the felled tree. Mulberry trees are fast-growing invasives that were imported for their sweet fruit and decorative qualities in the landscape. But they regularly get toppled when they grow too large to withstand rigorous winter climates in the USA. In the end I created three artworks expressing different aspects of the tree as product of nature and culture.

Fallen Tree: This performance enacts a futile attempt to revive the dead tree by making the branches sway as if in the wind. This simple gesture also mimics the way the tree blew down in a summer storm. As such, it comments on the increasing frequency and intensity of weather-related events due to climate change. This desperate act is akin to beating a dead horse.

Mulberry Pendulums: Mulberry branches are malleable, so they can easily be shaped into curvilinear forms. I bent the branches into a series of irregular spherical structures by tying them with jute twine. Then I hung the collection of organic globes from the ceiling, nearly touching the floor. The tension established between the suspended natural materials and the concrete floor is a metaphor of conflicts between humans and the natural world.

Tree Splints: This sculptural piece is a hopeless attempt to repair the dead tree by patching together pieces of its severed branches. Stout logs were chopped and reconnected with wooden dowel rods. The collection of segmented branches stand vertically in a group buttressing one-another. The “repaired” pieces rise to approximately the height of a human, so spectators can establish a direct relationship with them. An assemblage of bone-like modules, the sculpture personifies the tree trunk and limbs.