SAYER WICKHAM

MASSACHUSETTS

Pine Ring (2009)

white pine, Amherst

Like much of New England, the land surrounding the campus of Hampshire College was once cleared pasture. As grazing sheep and milking cows became less profitable, most farmland was abandoned and reclaimed by the forest. White pine is a pioneer species, readily colonizing open fields with fast growing seedlings. As available sunlight is reduced, many white pine individuals die off. The stand above is an example of this common forest succession; what makes the place unique is the dramatic curved trunks, most likely the result of a powerful ice storm that bent but did not break the young trees 30 years ago. My collaborator, Benny, and I removed dead trees to build this ring. We erected the 15 foot circle and oriented it in the direction the storm came from, creating a dynamic scene that acknowledged the present wonder of the stand as well as its ecological context.

Photos: Ann Wickham

Juniper Sphere (2010)

buckthorn, multiflora rose, grape vine, Amherst

In the middle of a field at Hampshire College, a juniper tree was succumbing to the weight and shade from a host of invasive vines. The farmer mowed around the tangled mess, creating an island of spiky chaos. I felt moved to save the juniper, if only temporarily. Over a few days I cut back the razor sharp rose and buckthorn, separating the material before confining it into a sphere. The tree was liberated. Yet even as I finished the piece, new shoots had emerged, ready to climb again.

Bound (2010)

barbed wire / moose skull, Amherst / Thetford

Bonfire Sphere (2011)

barbed wire, Amherst

Extracted Mass (2011)

sugar maple, Amherst

Stone Bench (2010)

scree field stone, Holyoke Range, Hadley

This bench is built on a very steep scree field on the northeast face of Bare Mountain. Over the course of several weeks, I drove to the Notch and hiked to this location. I learned which sections of the talus deposit would slide and which stones could hold my weight. Collecting stones to build the bench was tedious: the basalt rocks were mostly angled and poor for masonry, requiring me to search a wide section of the slide. Each day that I hiked to the site I was prepared for it to have slid away. The masonry bench, usually a solid structure, felt fragile. The final piece represents a place of brief respite, an organized order built into the disarray of the mountain. The universe moves toward entropy, and Stone Bench is no different.