On Wednesday the 9th of March I planted some 18 Moringa Oleifera ‘Miracle Tree’ seeds in small pots and placed them behind the curtain in the study room at Nottingham Contemporary. On Friday 18th of March the first shoots of the germinated trees were seen. Of the 18 seeds planted 14 germinated. It was from one of the 4 failed seeds that the ‘miracle tree’ tattoo emerged.

On Monday 28th of March I bought the plants back to my studio. I checked the soil of the seeds that had not germinated. To my surprise I found one seed that seemed to be growing upside down in the soil. I carefully removed the seed and re-planted it. Whilst the tree did grow it stopped growing after a few days. I rechecked the seed and found that it had no root production. Despite the seed clearly being damaged it was amazing to think that it still managed some growth and leaf production. The power of the evolutionary imperative to grow is staggering.

The shape, provenance and ontology of this tiny tree seemed to lend itself to possible material transformation. I decided to preserve the small tree. Some five weeks later the tree was pressed. It measured 4 cm in height by 1.5 cm in width.

It is the closeness of the relationship between the miracle trees and me that has stayed with me and continues to engage my thoughts. The work, like many of my projects, seeks to privilege an intimacy of knowledge gained through observation and experience. Such closeness tried to overcome the material, social and ethical distance that can occur in works that attempt to comment on situations or conditions that are evident but not experienced.

The tiny tree reminded me of the kind of Desert Island that is beloved by animators. It did seem to echo the occasional sense I get of being isolated on an island of conceptual and material localism within the relationship. That said, this isolation, even loneliness, tends to be short lived as the experiences and subsequent knowledge of the relationship makes connections in and through the complexity of other things.

It was with the combination of the ‘island’ metaphor and the notion of ‘closeness’ that the idea of a transfer tattoo emerged. Close here becomes skin with an image lying between our corporeal and experiential senses; a place where art often hides out. Transferring is a common concept in the practice of art. Whether it is the complex exchange of meanings constructed through moving something from one place to another or, equally complex, the transference of material and symbolic meanings within the work, art restlessly transfers our material and psychological selves.

The work is the transference of the Moringa Oleifera tree from its organic form, to a reproducible material of adornment. The tattoo transfer becomes an expression of this transference; an image guised as a desert island but, behind the guise, a relic of a miracle. To wear it is to briefly acknowledge the nurture that is Nature from an island that is a miracle tree.

Note: Often referred to as the Miracle Tree, the Moringa Oleifera is native to the southern foothills of the Himalayas in northwestern India. Gram for gram, Moringa leaves contain: seven times the vitamin C in oranges, four times the calcium in milk, four times the vitamin A in carrots, two times the protein in milk and three times the potassium in bananas. It is for this and other extraordinary properties of this tree that it has been referred to as the world’s most generous tree.

Share on Facebook

The Miracle Trees (Moringa Oleifera)

In March of 2010 John Newling was approached to develop a work in collaboration with Bronislaw Szerszynski of the Department of Sociology and the ESRC Centre for the Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics (CESAGen), Lancaster University.

The work that emerged ‘Synthia II (code / soil / life)’ consisted of a soil constructed by shredding the genetic code (634 pages) of Craig Venter’s synthetic life form ‘Synthia’. Growing in the soil was a Moringa Oleifera tree germinated by Newling in his studio.

During this time Newling germinated and attempted to grow 11 of these ‘generous’ trees. Often referred to as the Miracle Tree, the Moringa Oleifera is native to the southern foothills of the Himalayas in northwestern India. Gram for gram, Moringa leaves contain: seven times the vitamin C in oranges, four times the calcium in milk, four times the vitamin A in carrots, two times the protein in milk and three times the potassium in bananas. It is for this and other extraordinary properties of this tree that it has been referred to as the world’s most generous tree.

As part of his research Newling has been closely observing the growth of the trees and making pressings of the Moringa leaves and complete trees. Leaves from the Moringa are pressed in selected books and the work is complemented by a video documenting Newling’s recycling process of making the soil from which the Moringa grows, caring for the plants, and pressing their leaves.
This work is on view from 22 January until 27 March 2011. This is the first in a series of artist’s interventions in the Study.

Share on Facebook

Extract from ‘The Lemon Tree and Me.’ The full text and images will be published in Spring 2012

The Lemon Tree & Me:
10 Months Later

Monday 17th January 2011: Today I received an email from Jeremy Webster of the Lincoln Collection informing me of the sad news that, despite every effort made, the lemon tree was dead. It was the kind of news that has a visceral affect and, whilst it was remarkable that the tree lasted for as long as it did, it was still unexpected.

Back on Tuesday 24th March 2010, when I received the somewhat bedraggled lemon tree from Jonathan Casciaini I had little notion of the quantity and quality of experience and knowledge that the Lemon Tree and Me project would bring. Now, 95 weeks later, the Lemon Tree and Me is coming to an end. The lemon Tree was with the Collection for 308 days which was a great achievement on their behalf.

It is the closeness of the relationship between The Lemon Tree & Me that has stayed with me and continues to engage my thoughts. The project sought to privilege an intimacy of knowledge gained through observation and experience. Such closeness tried to overcome the material, social and ethical distance that can occur in works that attempt to comment on situations or conditions that are evident but not experienced.

The relationship had no formal specifications of how to represent it but, nevertheless, seemed, at times, to open and connect thoughts and experiences inside of a domain of knowledge that tried to be exhaustive in its organisation. The organisation of the relationship seemed to be governed through many forms of knowledge; experiential, procedural, social, conceptual, qualitative, experimental, descriptive, quantitative and self knowledge.

Imbedded in the relationship there was a sense of a transcendental experience; an early knowledge remembered. This acted as glue within the co-relationship, underscoring, connecting and driving slow time and the need to respond intuitively. It enhanced the possibilities of imagined spaces between ecology and aesthetics.

There were times when the intense relationship felt cut off, isolated from everyday experiences on an island of conceptual and material localism. Conversely the island experience did teach me much about ‘what we have’ as I tried to make wider connections from within the relationship; bridges from the island.

The project was drenched in intricate interactions connecting within and without the complexity of the relationship. As such, negotiating such complexities embodied the realities of uncertainty and trust as essential constituents of these bridges.

The values of the Lemon Tree and Me were grounded in a wonder of our relationship within the natural environment and sort to transpose this sense to other situations that are common to us all.
Tuesday 8th February 2011: Jonathan brought the lemon tree back from the Lincoln Collection.

Wednesday 9th February 2011: Today I removed the lemon tree from the soil. I washed the root system and preserved it.

This last vestige of the tree sits in my studio like some ancient relic. But what an amazing relic it is. The roots of the lemon were the core of where the constructed soil met the natural systems of the tree; both ecological station and vehicle; a matrix as both heart and an echo of the complexities of the relationship.

The Lemon Tree & Me evolved as an intense co-relationship where the material expression of the work was the result of that relationship; a working from life; a love song; sung for 688 days.
The Lemon Tree and Me (Tuesday 24th March 2009 - Wednesday 9th February 2011)

Share on Facebook

Performed on 2nd December in St Mary’s church, Nottingham 2010
A project for Sideshow

Singing Uncertainty (background) The fragility of a longed for certainty

Singing Uncertainty continues the thread of an earlier work. In 1994 Locus+ commissioned the project ‘Skeleton’ for All Saints Church, Newcastle Upon Tyne. A principal element of this project was a hymn book that had been edited to show only the questions that were written in the hymns.

The hymn book was one remembered from my early school days where I found hymn singing in the daily school assembly a challenge. Many words were unfamiliar and I sang in some discomfiture, embarrassed and unsure of pronunciation yet still reflecting on what these words were saying. During the scrutiny of hymns for ‘Skeleton’ I was surprised to see that 147 of the hymns contained questions. Whilst many of the questions were rhetorical they did reflect a very human longing for certainty in a world that is uncertain. I found the collective narrative produced from these questions very moving. It also reflected my childhood memory of embarrassment and deep curiosity.

In 2004 I was commissioned to make a work for the Chapter House at Canterbury Cathedral. The resulting installation ‘Stamping Uncertainty’ was a further exploration of the questions. ‘Singing Uncertainty’ takes the work a stage further into the form of an a cappella choral work where each question is individually sung in the order that the question appears in the hymn book. The choir for this work will comprise singers drawn from the general public. Each question will be sung in it original musical notation. Song is brought from within us and expressed away from the body filling the air in which it mixes. I hope that ‘Singing Uncertainty’ will fill the space where it is performed with the fragility of a longed for certainty; a very human fragrance that, momentarily becomes the lungs and ears of the site.

On the 2nd of December 2010 in St Mary Church, Nottingham the 1st version of Singing Uncertainty was performed.

Sarah Ormanroyd, Paul Lewthwiate, Sarah Lewthwaite, Huijuan Xie, Caroline MacKeith, Juila Mills, Chris Syson, Julia Syson, Helen Crowder,Olivia Bamlett, Sarah Bamlett, Sam Wing, Marie Bertram, Russell Tanham, Claire Simpson, Roger Caney, Alison Darksus, Hugh Miller, Miriam Keye, Mark Ramsey, Murray Brown, Jaspreet Gill, Lucy Yates, Gail Evans, Rebecca Gamble, Nicola Linley, Jennie Syson, Su Ansell

Acknowledgements
Rev Christopher Harrison, Rev Richard Davey, John Keys

Share on Facebook

Peterborough Soil (final phase)
Permanent work installed 16th November 2010
Project Curator: Gillian Barclay
Project Management: Gillian Barclay, Lisa Helin, Kevin Tighe

The 4 phases of the Peterborough Soil project

Calling / Gathering
Peterborough Soil [first phase]
Phase 1 of the project was the call for people of Peterborough to contribute images of Peterborough to a dedicated website. These images, places in Peterborough that hold a special memory or are considered to be a favourite place in the city, were collected through the website and at the museum. Alongside of the images a short text, in relation to the image, was also welcomed. The images formed the bulk of the content of the 2nd phase of the project.

Construction / Distribution
Peterborough Soil [second phase]
Phase 2 of the project was the collation, design and construction of the received images into a newspaper. The Peterborough Soil newspapers were widely distributed throughout the city. Streets, buses and trains were used as sites to ‘give back’ the newspaper to the city. This sharing with people of the images and texts submitted formed a series of public transactions. A proportion of the newspapers were saved and used in phase 3 of the project.

Installation / Transformation
Peterborough Soil [third phase]
Phase 3 of the project took the form of an installation for Peterborough museum. The installation housed two industrial cages accommodating the processes of newspaper distribution and shredding whilst the other contained a converted compost tumbler that transformed, in the ratio of 80% paper to 20% vegetative matter, the newspapers into soil.
In this manner the Peterborough Soil became both metaphorically and actually a soil containing the images and texts of Peterborough submitted by people from Peterborough. Other sculptural elements were introduced to the installation. These enabled me to conduct a number of experiments and tests in order to determine at what point the soil can sustain plant life.

Redistribution / Permanence
Peterborough Soil [final phase]
Phase 4 of the project saw the constructed soil returned to the City of Peterborough. The soil was placed into the fabric of the newly constructed St Johns Square. The live event of this action ‘Redistribution’ saw the soil becoming a permanent element of the nourishment of the grassed area that people will stand, sit and walk across in the square. In this manner the soil that is metaphorically and actually a soil containing the images and texts of Peterborough submitted by people from Peterborough will forever be at a border between people and the earth, a kind of live archaeological presence; an intelligent soil enriched with a renewed belief in the values of us.

Share on Facebook

Notes for the Mayor of Broxtowe, Cllr. Pat Lally

In 2009, artist John Newling collected and copied key documents relating to the different history of spaces adjacent to the River Trent and the industrial wastelands of Nottingham. These documents and images had an emphasis on changing values and shifting architectural or ground use. This collection of documents were shredded and transformed into soil.

Using a laboratory provided by BioCity, the artist then conducted a number of experiments. In this first phase of the project, the laboratory housed a hydroponics system that nourished and grew 9 Beech trees. Newling’s hopes for this installation were to open up the ‘historic situation’ of material culture, evolving his project through a series of vital conversations between nature, environment and society.
Part II of The Clearing project is the final planting of 9 beech trees. Each of these trees were temporarily grown and studied in a hydroponic installation entitled ‘The Clearing’ part 1. The trees are planted in a geometric configuration whereby each tree is separated by 40 degrees and rests in a position at the edge of a circular ground plan. Each tree will have the soil, constructed in a laboratory installation at BioCity Nottingham that is composed of histories, images and names of people form the area where they are planted.

In this manner the future growth, carbon, formed by each beech tree will be both metaphysically and actually conjoined with events and people from the area where the final work is planted.
…The Clearing is a space defined by nine Beech trees growing in a soil that both metaphorically and actually is constructed through the histories of its hinterland.
As the trees grow it will become a mature work that speaks of the timeless need for our species to continuously cross the thresholds of knowledge disclosing the hidden to all of us.
The Clearing is a permanently sited work that becomes a place. It is envisaged that an annual talk and reading will happen in this space as part of being established as a place. Each year a leading poet will be invited to make this annual work…

“My hope is that the clearing will be happened upon by many and that the site will become a poetic convergence of material and meaning; a place of peace and illumination; a sited work that becomes a place.” (John Newling)

Share on Facebook

A public artwork by John Newling. An a capella choral performance piece involving 150 members of the public explores the nature of doubt and the struggle for faith expressed in the Methodist Church’s hymn book.

The event is free but booking is essential. The event will take place at St Mary’s Church in the Lace Market in Nottingham on the 2nd December 2010 6pm-8pm.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR PLACE ONLINE FOR THIS EVENT

John Newling’s a cappella choral work for Sideshow, ’Singing Uncertainty’, explores the nature of doubt and the struggle for faith expressed in the Church’s hymn book, using 150 singers from the public and from various choirs to individually sing a question in the order that it appears in the hymn book in its original musical notation. ‘Singing Uncertainty’ will fill the space where it is performed with the fragility of a longed for certainty.

The hymn book was one remembered from the artist’s early school days where he found hymn singing in the daily school assembly a challenge. Many words were unfamiliar and he sang in some discomfiture, embarrassed and unsure of pronunciation yet still reflecting on what these words were saying. During the scrutiny of hymns in the Hymn book Newling was surprised to see that 147 of them contained questions. Whilst many of the questions were rhetorical they did reflect a very human longing for certainty in a world that is uncertain.

’Singing Uncertainty’ will be followed by drinks at the Sideshow Cafe Bar at One Thoresby Street from 7:30pm – 9pm.

Share on Facebook

‘The Clearing is a space defined by nine Beech trees growing in soil constructed through the histories of their hinterland. My hope is that the clearing will be happened upon by many and that the site will become a poetic convergence of material and meaning; a place of peace and illumination.’
JOHN NEWLING

This two part project was commissioned for Hinterland in 2009, and the first part took place at BioCity Laboratories in Sneinton, where the artist conducted a number of experiments. In this first phase of the project the laboratory housed a hydroponics system which nurtured and grew nine Beech trees.

This event will happen on Friday 12th November. For more details about the event please visit the Sideshow 2010 website. To book your place for this afternoon event, including transport contact jennie [at] hinterlandprojects.com

Newling’s piece opened up the ‘historic situation’ of material culture, evolving his project through a series of vital conversations between nature, environment and society. This event is the final ever event for Hinterland Projects and marks the conclusion of a series of artists works which studied the River Trent and the local environment. www.hinterlandprojects.com

SCHEDULE FOR THE EVENT

10.30am
Free bus from One Thoresby Street Studios in Sneinton.
Visit www.onethoresbystreet.org for a map

11am
Arrive at Leyton Crescent Recreation ground for Tree Planting with the Mayor of Broxtowe, Cllr. Patrick Lally

12noon
Lunch and screening of James Brouwer’s documentary about The Clearing

12.45pm
Talk with John Newling and Q&A

1.45pm
The Clearing Walk

Share on Facebook

This work was developed in collaboration with Bronislaw Szerszynski of the Department of Sociology and the ESRC Centre for the Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics (CESAGen), Lancaster University.

Synthia II (code / soil / life) consists of a soil constructed by shredding Craig Venter’s synthetic life form ‘Synthia’ and blending it with vegetable matter grown in the ‘root zone’ land outside of our house. The soil was constructed over an 18 day period that deployed a closeness of observation and experimentation in order to convert 634 pages of code and text into a material that could sustain life. The constructed soil, hopefully, will enable the growth of a Moringa Oleifera (miracle tree). These trees are amongst the most versatile trees in the world.

The work records an experimentation that is a relationship of meaning and materiality constructing, cultivating and reviewing a poetics of responsibility. It is a relationship that advocates an intelligent ecology based on values that are immanent in the complex workings of nature.

Venter’s Synthia seems at odds to a social ecology, in a state of co-creation with the natural environment. The attempt to grow a Moringa Oleifera tree in a soil largely constructed from Venter’s code is a renewing of the vital need for a co-creation between the natural environment and us. Synthia II is a permanent work commissioned by Lancaster University.

The soil is constructed from the following documents relating to Craig Venter’s creation of a synthetic life form, Synthia (Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0):
1. The article in Science where Venter published the news that he’d
created a synthetic life form in May - 12 pages
2. The supporting online material for that - 29 pages
3. The print out of the entire Synthia genome - 279 pages
4. The supporting files explaining what all the genes are - 314 pages
Total text = 634 pages
+ vegetable matter as approximately 20% of the soil composition

Share on Facebook

I have been collecting and pressing many leaves and flowers from the Root Zone site. These pressings will then be placed into all the books in the local history section of the local library in Sherwood. Sherwood library has a comprehensive section on local history. I will be placing one or two of the pressing into each book. I have on a few occasions been reading a book and come across a pressed flower or leaf and know that it is a strange and oddly personal encounter.

From early July people taking out local history books will come across these delicate, resonant markers. I am curious if the pressed leaves will be removed or left in place.

Share on Facebook