Writing with a Pine : Addressing a Tree as Audience

Abstract

Writing letters to trees next to the trees with a camera as witness is a practice connected to the problem of speaking for, with, or to others. Addressing the tree as an audience rather than speaking about the tree, or as the tree, or on behalf of the tree, is here explored as one way of encountering trees. This poses new problems; by treating plants as persons, rather than acknowledging the vegetal in me, do I neglect our joint participation in zoe, and disregard our trans-corporeality? Is addressing the tree in writing actually making our relationship more fictional compared to simply breathing and appearing together? - The text consists of four parts, including a prologue, the letter, a dialogue with critical references and an epilogue. Besides exploring the problem of addressing a tree, the aim is to demonstrate how artistic research can allow seemingly contradictory approaches to coexist on an experiential level.