Baum - Shadow of a Tree, 1993



I sat on a huge granite rock under a large tree, resting in the shadow in order to escape the glittering sun. As I merged with the shadow of the tree and looked at it, I was fascinated by its presence in this very moment. The tree was my shelter and the image of the shadow on the rock became a symbol of the cooling spot I found for myself. I took a photo of the shadow and carried it away with me. Two years later (in 1993) I realized a piece based on that moment and titled it "shadow of a tree". I worked with the size of the photo and dedicated a rectangle of the floor in the exhibition room for it (130cm x 180cm). I arranged white marble pebble-stones in the shape of that shadow on the floor. The piece is a sketch, a drawing. It is about my approach to my work. With my work I want to share my experience. Yet I am not interested in illustrating it or informing others about it. I want to put work out that initiates experience as a thing that one has to engage with. I am working with images in order to facilitate an engagement yet I avoid to define images, so that they do not become barriers for the mind. The rectangle in "shadow of a tree" refers to a paper size, an extract, a cut-out from a whole, a selection. The material is stone, yet pebbles of marble, glowing white. It is a natural material, naturally shaped and formed, yet extracted from a process of quarrying stone. A left-over product that you buy in bags in a garden center. The pebbles are arranged in the shape of a shadow of a tree. It is an image with material, has its own material presence. Obviously it is not a tree, but through the image, a stony shadow, it works as a sign with its own presence. The material makes it difficult to grasp the image - it even has its own subtle shadow. It is a drawing on how we perceive, how we extract, how we share, and how we let it go alone. A little sketch, not more, but it is an example for a basic question that still is part of my investigations. We are alive, move and try to understand the world around us. The different cultures are initially reflections on our surrounding, a form of nature. We move and engage with other beings. We have a sensory perception that enables us to engage with the outer world. We have languages in order to communicate, sign systems that are (more or less) agreed upon and function as a basic tool. My investigations take place in the language of drawing - as a concept - and in the language of sculpture - as a real thing. I am interested in touching people through my work, in directing an engagement that is physical and mental and hopefully changes a bit of their world.