Sat 21 June
DIALOGUES WITH THE FOREST
Paintings by Diego Chaves
Saturday 21 June – Saturday 12 July 2008

Closing Reception
Saturday 12 July 2008 at 3pm

Long ago, man and tree were able to share words like brothers. But as he often does, man lost the ability to hear. Saddened, the trees silenced themselves to the ears of humanity and withheld their secrets. No longer could man know the secrets of eternal life of the Green. No longer could man hear the music of the forest as he passed by. He was unable to hear the symphony of the four elements and the harmony of the birds. His eyes were blind to the meadows turned into dance floors by the swooping birds and falling leaves performed for an audience of flowers. Only the oral tradition allows for man to hold onto the few secrets of the Green he remembers. Secrets that remind humanity that even the simplicity of sights, sounds, and smells found in the woods contain a powerful knowledge.

- Diego Chaves (Edited and complemented by Brock Smeenk)

How can one express the desperation to know the truth?
How can I yell my frustration?
When one stars to talk in other languages
The wind blows out but is only silence
My green is shine but everyone is blind

Desperation is singing because the time’s over
Because my space is shorter
We talk between us but our ideas are not heard
We meet in the dark of the night to plan our strategies
We know the future because we have been here for eternity
How can we be heard, how can we be understood
We are looking for the messenger to give us the news
Someone to open their eyes
We want to yell that we know what the answer is
We know the happiness and beautifulness
We have been here before, before all of you
Before the times, but after the sun