The Cycle of the Trees of Life

Why is the exhibition called “the Cycle of the Trees of Life”?

The paintings tell the story of 3 cycles of life:

The phrase “the Tree of Life” has been used in many cultures for hundreds of years, and it is always a symbol of regeneration, of the ability of life to reproduce itself, or resurrect itself.

Inside the exhibition
The “Cycle of the Trees of Life” exhibition, in the Iona Gallery, Kingussie, Highland.

Where are the trees?

Each painting has images drawn from a different tree, but none contains the whole tree. Each painting contains at least 1 leaf, which is the biggest shape, and it contains a mixture of other things. The oak has hundreds of little leaves and a cross-section of a trunk; the willow has catkins along with a trunk sprouting branches.

Some of the leaves look like trees, don't they?

Yes. The veins of the leaf “branch” in the same way that the trunk “branches” into boughs; the boughs “branch” into branches; then the branches themselves “branch” into twigs. It is amazing how these same “branching” patterns are found in the veins of humans, in a river delta (when seen from above), in flashes of lightning, and in many other places. Whether they are seen in a cosmic scale in the sky, or under an electron microscope, the branching patterns in nature have striking similarities.

Why are there faces in these paintings?

Partly because Jean wanted to give a focal point in each painting with which everyone could identify; and partly, to show the cycle of man's life from birth to death. The image also incorporates a tradition of the Celts for revering the head. The Celts believed that the soul would pass into another body. They would impale a severed human heads on a staff or set it upon a pillar to ward off evil.

View the “Trees of Life” paintings, the Exhibition Offer and it's supporting interpretation material..