The Tree Of Peace / Monumental Sculpture
Mazel Wood
340 x 220 x 320 cm
2019
Without making peace with ourselves,
with one another, with nature —
in short, with life itself —
good days seem beyond our reach.
Peace must be lived, and kept alive.
Just as a seed takes root in the soil and
a river finds its way to the sea,
peace must be lived and allowed to grow.
— Ayhan Tomak
Ayhan Tomak does not treat the hollow within the thuja trunk as a deficiency. Instead, he fills that void from within by giving it a new tree, and in doing so frees the wood once again from its own interior. Remaining faithful to the artist’s manifesto above, he seeks peace not on a flawless surface but on ground that is cracked and split. The more intricate the texture of the outer bark, the more delicate and serene the tree emerging from within. The horizontal trunk laid across the ground before it is its reflection; the standing tree and the reflection spread upon the earth are two states of the same being — one rooted in the ground, the other contemplating itself. Standing at the centre of the plaza, this monument reveals the world behind it through its filled hollow, inviting us to come face to face with life.