TREE AS HOME

Tree as Home is a research exploring the relationship between humans and the landscape of the forest through the story of a massive silver fir from Fischbach - a small hamlet in the mountains of the Bregenzerwald region in Austria. 

The central question of the project is how to meaningfully integrate the qualities that define a sense of home, alongside the (social) landscape where the tree grew, into the artisanal crafting of a wooden object.

This project is a collaboration between landscape architect Anna Fink and the artist Gebrand Burger coming forth from their shared interest in the relationship between forest, wood and object. Gerbrand is also the founder of the ‘Thinking Forest Foundation’.

In the winter 2022 this idea began to take shape when we decided to cut down a tree from Anna’s family forest. During the new moon, under the zodiac sign of Aquarius, we bid farewell to a silver fir more than 150 years old. Later the wood was sawn into planks by a local miller and now rests to dry in front of the family house. Soon the wood is ready to move on into the next chapter of the story. 

We see this harvest as a representation of a connection to the place and it's history. As well as raising our awareness towards all the ambiguous questions that arrived with this harvest. We want the processing of the wood to become a sign of respect and reciprocity so that craftsmanship can be a vehicle for the storytelling about a place it's material culture. In 2023 we had the honour to speak to Tim Ingold about these questions and together reflect on our responsibilities towards the tree, the place and the people that are part of the process.