SILVER BEECH IS MY NAME
I am never alone. For me, life is a communal affair. I see myself as part of a big family. At our festive table, there is room for flora and fauna in all colors and forms. The upper world gifts us with green and lively things, such as leaves, blossoms, and the flying ones. The lower world offers us delicacies like fungi and root fibers, along with the creeping and burrowing creatures. My closest relatives stand by my side. Together, we partake in the vibrant bustle of life above and below. Animals run, birds fly, and insects scurry about, all vying for attention and an occasional meal. What we share is a lust for life and a deep-seated need to find and secure our place.
In our own domain, my roots grow deep and spread wide through dark underground corridors. This space is my lower kingdom, where I reign with inexorable pleasure.
I embrace the interactions, the penetrations, and the tastes of this seductive realm. I am not alone in this lower world. Here, we communicate, barter, and nourish one another. Everything above depends on our precious, enriched moisture, which we gladly transport upward in exchange for the sweet, sun-inspired nutrients from above—a grand exchange in the essential currencies of life. Thus, I unite two distinct worlds, the upper and the lower.
On my gnarled skin, I feel the heavy movement of dark shadows as clouds pass by, like mountains strolling in the sky. My fine leaves savor the welcome drops of rain, offerings from the gray expanse above. Radiant sunlight gets lost, stumbling through the confusion of my branches, and falls into the watery realms below. Reflections from a hidden source play in our leafy tableau, illuminating the scene with mystical reflections of the above and the below.
Home:
New Zealand, South Island, Southland, Mirror Lakes
Tree species:
Nothofagus menziesii
Tree family:
Nothofagaceae – mock beech
Common Names:
Tawhai, New Zealand silver beech, silver false beech
Motivation:
The "Mirror Lakes" are located in the Eglinton Valley at the foot of an impressive mountain range. At the heart of this beautiful valley, the Eglinton River meanders, forming shallow pools along its way. The reflections in the water turn the world upside down, allowing us to look down into skies that are really up above.