exhibition view 2006. photo Ann Frössén.
DAVID ,NASH
exhibition view 2006. photo Ann Frössén. |
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 Multicut Column 2001, ash, 241 x 90 x 100 cm. photo David Nash and Beatrice Behlen. |
gggg |  Two Cut Corners Columns 1998, cedar, heigt: 2,8 m. Collection City of Gothenburg. |
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WOODEN BOULDER
1978 - present
oak
The oak
tree from which the Wooden Boulder has been carved dates from 1750 and grew
for over two hundred years on a wooded hillside above the Ffestiniog Valley
in North Wales. The tree came down in 1978.
The wooden boulder is a simple basic shape cut just enough to hint that it has
been intentionally formed. For 25 years I have followed its engagement with
the weather, gravity and the seasons. It became a stepping-stone into the drama
of physical geography. Spheres imply movement and initially I helped it to move,
but after a few years I observed it only intervening when absolutely necessary
- when it became wedged under a bridge.
In volume the boulder has remained the same in appearance, gradually changing
to look more like a rock, the crisp edges rounding with erosion and its surface
aging.
The drawing maps the journey of 25 years 1978-2003. At any given moment the
boulder is a mark in time. During the first 24 years it moved down stream nine
times remaining static for months and years. Sedentary and heavy it would sit
bedded in stones animated by the varying water levels and the seasons. Beyond
the bridge its position survived many storms, the force of the water spread
over the shallow banks did not have the power to shift it. I did not expect
it to move into the Dwyryd river in my lifetime.
Then in November 2002 it was gone. The 'goneness' was palpable. The storm propelled
the boulder 5 kilometres, stopping on a sandbank in the Dwryd estuary. Now tidal,
it became very mobile. The high tides around full moon and the new moon moved
it every 12 hours to a new place, each placement unique to the consequence of
the tide, wind, rain and depth of water.
In January 2003 it disappeared from the estuary but was found again in a marsh.
An incoming tide had taken it up a creek, where it stayed for five weeks. The
equinox tide of March 19 2003 was high enough to float it back to the estuary
where it continued its movement back and forth 3 or 4 kilometres each move.
The wooden boulder was last seen in June 2003 on a sandbank near Ynys Giftan.
All creeks and marshes have been searched so it can, only be assumed it has
made its way to the sea. It is not lost. It is wherever it is.
David Nash 2004
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