Giant Willow Oak, one year orbit
by Amanda Sauer
portfolio winners call 'Urbanautica Institute Awards 2024', 2024
Category: Anthropology and Territories
This is an attempt to sense to the turning of the Earth; a desire to deepen my perception of time. It is also a surrender to a deep attraction I felt for this singular tree, one of the oldest and largest in my region.
I imagine that a tree, rooted in place, experiences time through the movement of sunlight specific to its position on the planet. With my camera I followed the light as it fell upon the tree. I began to circle the tree, counterclockwise – just as the Earth revolves counterclockwise around the sun. I became a satellite orbiting the tree, tethered through awe and reverence. Days turned into seasons into years. It was never the same tree.
One Year Orbit is an installation of these photographs representing one year – or one revolution of the Earth around the sun. The x-axis is position around the tree; the y-axis is chronological time.
also from Urbanautica Institute Awards 2024