Materials:
Bronze
Concrete
Tree of Life, Uprooted
May Sun
The bronze “Tree of Life, Uprooted” is precariously tethered to the ground, secured by a few strong roots. It stands on a grassy mound, surrounded by a circular pathway. Concrete benches encircle the mound. The pathway can be used for memorial services, poetry recitals, or dance or music performances in the warmer months.
The overall ambience of the artwork is sound-based. It can encompass the presence of healing sound waves as well as sight, touch, or traversing.
After a loved one departs from this world, there is silence; we no longer hear their voice. We seek signs of their spiritual presence — a feather on the ground, a hummingbird flying close, a song.
“Unprecedented” was the word that described the virus that claimed the lives of so many people. The virus literally took their breath away. Their families and loved ones could not visit them in hospitals. Having been isolated, masked up, and secluded, talking only on phones or via Zoom, they can use the “Tree of Life, Uprooted” memorial park as a place to sing, to yell, to make music, to talk in person.
Throughout the outer walkways that surround the grassy mound where “Tree of Life, Uprooted” stands, there are seating structures where you can sit and play a musical instrument of your choice, and there are also sound sculptures along the path to share a message with a loved one. You can also sit and merely listen.
In the evening, “Tree of Life, Uprooted” will glow in the dark, surrounded by ambient lighting in the park. Fiber optic lights can be installed inside the tips of the tree branches.
May Sun is a Los Angeles-based artist.