We were recently surprised at one of our exhibitions by an exciting invitation from Nigel Fisher, the Curator of Oxford's Wytham Woods, to come to his woodlands to work. We were showing The Elms and Chestnuts (a recent pair of reduction linocuts) at the exhibition Nigel attended, which prompted his kind invitation. As a result, we have spent much of our fieldwork time during the past five months visiting and re-visiting the woodlands at all opportunities and in all weathers, in order to sketch, photograph and experience the wood in as many of its moods as possible. We have been meeting the scientists, school teachers and members of the public who use the woods, and by regular engagment with the woodlands and its users over a complete annual cycle, we hope to begin to build up a narrative and visual picture of the woods which may begin to shed light on what has recently been termed Oxford's 'ecological laboratory'(1). In the SSSI citation for Wytham, the woods are described as follows:
Our plan is to build up a series of images and text for exhibition, and a book drawing the two together. We are intending to use long-grain woodblocks (sycamore) from Wytham, prepared for us at its sawmill, for some of the larger hand-printed images. At this stage of the project, we have already observed late summer sunshine, the turning colour to bronze of the autumn leaves, the heavy hoar-frosts of December and the deep snows of Christmas. Although we are looking forward to spending a lot more time at Wytham before we finish collecting and producing images for the project, we have already to begun to turn our ideas, sketches and impressions into images. Below is a two-block lino image taken from a Boxing Day sketch of the sheep of the Wytham flock standing in fresh snow. This is the first of at least six images I am working on from sketches made on clear spaces on Wytham Hill.
This site consists of a complex of ancient woodland, wood pasture, common land and old limestone grassland on a variety of soils. The site has a well documented history dating back to at least 1544 when it formed part of the lands of Abingdon Abbey. The ancient woodland copses are undoubtedly of greater age and were probably present in Saxon times. The site has an exceptionally rich flora and fauna. Over 500 species of vascular plants have been recorded. Many aspects of the bird, mammal and invertebrate fauna have been studied by Oxford University and have provided Wytham Wood with a volume of data probably unparalleled in this country.
Without yet knowing exactly of what the final collection of images will consist, we are aiming to cover as many aspects of the woodlands as possible. Its trees, its science, its birds, animals and visitors. In the image below, (a large single-block linocut printed in a rusty red-brown) established beech trees sit surrounded by saplings in the area known as The Plantation, and by looking carefully it is possible to identify the matt-black bat-box hanging from one of the lower branches of the beech in the foreground.
As we progress with the project, we'll add more images and updates, and news of the exhibition dates and venues. We have many more people to speak with, scenes to sketch and woodland moods to capture. So far the number of completed images is a fraction of what we hope to end up with as the season draws on, and we can truly say that we have spent a year in the woods at Wytham.
