by Reinhild Beuther, located August 20001
This project resulted from a Year of the Artists residency undertaken by the German artist Reinhild Beuther in the autumn 2000 and spring/summer of 2001. It was realised with the financial assistance of South West Arts, the Forestry Commission and Arnolfini Collection Trust.
“My initial intention with this residency was to connect German forest traditions with the English ones, since I come from a very wooded area in the northeast of Germany. I¹ve been brought up with many folksongs that talk about “the Forest” as a good or scary place, a place of hunting, animals and elves all this is still very much alive in parts of Germany.
The song I chose to work with “Abschied vom Walde” by Felix Mendelssohn Barthody, text by Joseph von Eichenforff is actually a composed art song that through its popularity found its way into my Mother¹s folk repertoires. It just fitted perfectly with my idea of the forest as a true and natural place, but at the same time man-made, with its Romantic notion of parting from the green and calming valleys back into the busy world. I made this floor piece in a local brick factory, imprinted with an English translation of the song and then laid under this large Douglas Fir tree.”
Reinhild Beuther, 5 August 2001