‘Silva’ by Chris Thomas

We are delighted to present ‘Silva: a meditation on trees and woods in eleven photographs’ by photographer Chris Thomas. 20th February – 24th March.

Humankind has had an intimate relationship with trees and woodland since the days of our earliest ancestors – on the one hand, practical and prosaic, on another, a deeply-felt sense of their intrinsic value as living things, expressed spiritually by some. The importance of trees and woodland as part of a sustainable, richly-biodiverse and resilient future environments is well-recognised, but our attachment goes beyond this: trees and woodland are just as important to us psychologically and physically, simply by being.
Arising from his own fascination with trees and woodlands, Chris’s sequence of black and white film photographs seeks to invite visitors to the exhibition simply to reflect upon the ‘being’ of trees and woods: their ‘essence’ expressed in their architectures, textures and forms, the way they create light and shade and space, how these phenomena change daily, or through the seasons – and how we respond ourselves, consciously or subliminally, to our trees and woodlands.