Locating Traces of Arboreal Beings: Connecting the Tree and the Woodblock

Abstract

Woodblocks for printmaking are multi-perspectival communicators inscribed with layered narratives. The artistic process of cutting excavates the surface of a woodblock, making visible lesser-seen traces of the past, reflective of the practice of archaeology. Printmakers and carvers make arboreal alterations as they gouge into surfaces of woodblocks, modifying them for cultural and communicative purposes. These artefacts also retain more-than-human marks from burrowing, clawing and gnawing of insects, marsupials and birds. The printable visual narrative of a woodblock simultaneously uncovers the life of a tree as an arboreal being, revealing traces of growth and past alterations. The continuing substantive presence of a tree is made evident through woodgrain, visible within a woodblock, transferred via the corresponding print. Through collecting and printing discarded or broken wooden fragments, I explore creative processes to unearth past histories of salvaged woodblocks. The marks trace multiple narratives of the life of the woodblock, conveying the wear of time and connection to living trees. Investigating exploratory methods that bridge the tactile connectivity of the living tree with its remnants is a reparative action. Cutting, inking and printing subjectively connect fragments with life to inform an understanding of our arboreal ancestors through a material understanding of wood.