Alix Spooren

Nobody asked the tree.

series of photos
handmade paper, ink, pearls, red thread

2026

each print is 19×25 cm

‘Nobody asked the tree.’ presents close-up images of tree bark, the skin of a tree, its protection. The photographs were taken in  Domein Hertoghe in Antwerpen, a remnant of what was once an ancient forest. Today, it is enclosed by buildings and busy roads. 

Printed on handmade paper, each image carries a word in braille, formed with pearls.  The pearls refer to tears, mourning what is disappearing, but also pointing to the absence of dialogue. Braille is a tactile language. It is read through touch, not sight. It refers to our blindness. Blind to the needs of trees, to the violence we inflict.