A Tree
Mosaic made from diverse burned forest materials collected during the
2021 fires in Eastern Ana- tolia and other areas in Southern Turkey
Last summer’s Mediterranean forest fires were precipitated by heatwaves and sweeping droughts brought about by climate change. These fires were the most widespread in Turkey’s history, and more than 150,000 hectares of land burned, hastened by the state’s unpreparedness and by their negligence.
A Tree is a 12-panel mosaic assembled from thousands of burned organic remnants from the 2021 Mediterranean forest fires. The artist collected tree branches, bones, ashes, metal, and stones by hand during walks in forests in Turkey, and she thinks of the work as a tree “composed from its ashes.” It builds on a long cultural tradition of mosaics by utilising broken and closely set pieces to form an image. The artist gathered the materials in A Tree from areas in Eastern Anatolia with significant political relevance, where the fires lasted for weeks. Forest fires are politically charged events in this area, whether natural or instigated by individuals. In this sense, A Tree points to the detrimental impact that state violence has on the environment.
Photo by Anja Schneider
