Kent and Sussex Courier
August 17th, 2007
Portrait of an English Icon
A Brenchley portrait photographer has chosen a 350 year old oak tree as the subject for his village exhibition.
A portrait photographer from Brenchley has mounted an exhibition of studies of the village's “quintessentially English icon” - a 350 year old oak tree.
Marle Place resident John-David Biggs, a 52 year old “artist with a camera”, unveils his tribute to the 80ft tree today at nearby Marle Place Gallery.
Entitled the Brenchley Oak and Kentish Folk, the exhibition features a series of 30 pictures of the ancient tree which stands alone in a field opposite the Halfway House pub in Brenchley.
The images depict a year in its life, from snowy winter whiteness to the Tour de France cyclists hurtling past beneath blue summer skies.
Dublin born Mr Biggs, the son of the late eminent sculptor Michael Biggs and painter Frances, says he has been inspired by the beauty of the surrounding countryside since his arrival in the village over a year ago.
He said: “People are my preference, but this singular tree echoed something in myself. It is really a portrait of the tree. It is situated in a very broad space, which is unusual for an oak tree. It is an English icon. It has brought out the quintessential Englishman in me. I feel very much at home here.”
Curious about his subject, Mr Biggs discovered the reason for the tree's longevity from local woodsman Hugo Williams - it is hollow, a condition caused by a severe loss of limbs when it was young.
Mr Biggs said: “It is open in the centre of the trunk which means water gets in which works its way down and rots it. This gives it two advantages - it can sway in the wind and it is useless for serious timber. It has allowed it to remain.”
In addition to the tree pictures, the show includes a collection of formal portraits of Kent residents produced using the extremely expensive platinum-palladium printing process.
“It's a very old way of printing a photograph,” he said. “I'm one of the few left in the world who still uses a film plate camera for portraits.”
The exhibition will be opened by Chris Reynolds, the curator of the Bedgebury National Pinetum.