A Tree Says [In These Boughs, the World Rustles] Opening Event

Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life. Hermann Hesse, Trees Are Sanctuaries

In this immersive new work, the artist Phoebe Boswell inhabits Orleans House Gallery and its surrounding woodlands, engaging the audience in an intergenerational call and response, where trees become repositories of enquiry. Boswell creates a sanctuary for us to raise our questions and listen to the voices of our elders as they endeavour to articulate life.

What are the questions you have always wanted to ask? What advice do you need right now? What do you still need to know?

Taking inspiration from Hermann Hesse’s ‘Trees are Sanctuaries’, the artist gathered questions through an open call which became the basis of her interviews with a vast and global group of elders: from a freedom-loving feminist activist from Gorée; to an Irish ex-nun turned actress; to a Greek scientist with a passion for plants; to a psychiatrist from Zimbabwe who engaged grandmothers in an ecosystem of care for his community; to the first Black woman to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale.

These recorded exchanges form the basis of A Tree Says (In These Boughs The World Rustles), and unfurl into an expansive and participatory installation. Owing to Boswell’s interdisciplinary approach to making, the exhibition includes polyphonic soundscapes, interactive sculpture, site-responsive wall drawings, intimate pencil studies, looped videos, and a new sonic collaboration with the internationally renowned free-improvising piano virtuoso Pat Thomas (Black Top, Moor Mother). What results is a generative layering of form and language, encouraging the audience to spend time both inside the gallery and outside, in nature.

Bring a picnic blanket and join us for an outdoor celebration across the vibrant ecosystem of Orleans House Gallery and explore A Tree Says.  

Please click HERE to RSVP
do bring your family, loved ones, friends, and guests.

Address: Orleans House Gallery, Riverside, Twickenham, TW1 3BL

Find more information here: A Tree Says (In These Boughs The World Rustles) – Orleans House Gallery