point of position / travel in thoughts
mobile phone screenshots, text, performance
work in progress, 2022
realised at artist residency
at Atelier Josepha









Exercise 
to travel in thoughts

(or to write a text about writing a text about
the experience of encountering an oak tree)

I sit in the kitchen
preparing myself to travel in thoughts
from my red table
to the oak tree
in the very right corner of the garden
that surrounds the house I currently live in.

I have been observing the oak many times from this spot
through the wide window front of the kitchen.
At various times of the day
in various light conditions.
Behind the tree I can see a sunburnt field
and behind that the water at the horizon.

To be honest, I kept postponing my encounter with it,
respectfully, or rather doubtfully, how to approach an oak
a sacred tree
connected to legends, stories and myths
used and misused for representation of men.

But those are merely excuses –
so now, in the morning of this early autumn day
my travel in thoughts begins.

I imagine
getting up from my chair,
stepping out of the door onto the lawn.
I would feel the cold, fresh air
hear birds and the wind.

I would look to the tree in the corner of the garden
Who is not alone:
It is last in a row next to another oak, a maple tree, two beeches, another oak tree.
I would walk slightly uphill
Approximately fifty small steps
Through grass, moss, fallen leaves and acorns.

And I know, I would feel somewhat uneasy
So close to the trunk
Under those wide branches
and its dark, cool and moist environment.

I would realise that not only the lower part is covered by flowering ivy
But also that it is crawling high up to the top.
I would remember that once I had read that ivy partners up with trees
in providing extra food and shelter for animals.

I would wonder about who had planted the oak and when?
Even if I wanted to I would be incapable of embracing the trunk,
estimating the height or age of the tree.

I would hear a vibrant humming
of busy insects, and smell something sweet.
Every now and then an acorn would fall down,
and I would be startled for a moment.

I would notice that the dark green leaves are very still –
And after a while,
I would go back to my desk and write down
my experience of the encounter with an oak tree.