Communicating with trees and other conversations

The Overstory, a seminal work by novelist Richard Powers, is the inspiration behind CATHERINE CAVALLO’s current exhibition titled The Tree is Saying Things, In Words Before Words. Joseph Agius discusses with the artist the environmental theme of her body of work.

JA: It is very interesting that the inspiration for your current exhibition, The Tree is Saying Things, in Words before Words, a quote from Richard Powers’s masterpiece The Overstory, evolved from a literary source. How did the process of your reading of the novel suggest the thematic evolution of this exhibition?

CC: As I got more and more immersed in The Overstory, the need to paint a tree grew to huge proportions. Suddenly, each tree was a unique being in a deeply connected community that encompassed the real meaning of true love; understanding that we in the universe are all one. The tree theme eventually crept into my figurative work, and I attempted to give each piece an uncomfortable feeling, a bit of turmoil, because we have never understood how to live in harmony with nature.

Almond Blossom Tree 2

JA: “You and the tree in your back yard come from a common ancestor,” claims Richard Powers in his masterpiece. To...