Lockdown among the trees
I wrote towards the beginning of lockdown about enjoying the virtual version of the Hayward exhibition Among the Trees. With the exhibition closed they suggested that people share images of their local trees on social media with the hashtag #SpringAmongTheTrees and trees weighted with blossom, in particular, seemed to fill my feeds for a while.
Almost four months have now passed in which I have spent time closer to home than ever before. I have become aware of a number of charming green spaces within a 15-minute walk of my home, which I had never before visited. I have really valued the simple joy of watching these spaces change with the season as leaves, then flowers came and went. Most of all, I realise how much more I have noticed the trees which I pass: their stoic architecture, rich colours dappled lights and insistent murmuring sounds.
Looking back through my photos from this strange time I also notice that (after shadows) trees are the most constant presence, clearly bringing aesthetic solace to my suddenly so visually proscribed days. It seems fitting, therefore, to add this visual diary here as one gentle way in which the coronavirus pandemic has changed how I see my world.