Inverness Museum & Art Gallery, 8-22 October 2003

'The Spiral of Life' by Jean Noble

THE IONA GALLERY was recently host to a remarkable exhibition, Jean Noble’s The Cycle of the Trees of Life. It is an exhibition which begins in the landscape and returns to our life. The theme is continuity, the sign is a spiral.

Native landscapes have had a notable influence on artists of all countries and cultures both past and present, and in Scotland the trees are an essential ingredient. Despite the workings of the Forestry Commission, in the Scottish landscape of today there are still fine examples of our own native stock. Speaking as an artist who has also attempted to come to terms with the Scottish landscape – these are our trees and we are their children.

This exhibition derives its energy and its themes from the trees of Scotland, our native trees which we see as sympathetic to our ideas of the Scottish land. Trees as history, as continuity, as fact and factor of our ideal ground.

The tree as a symbol of presence and of power is an ancient human concept. Today it is still possible to feel in areas within our woodlands similar feelings of awe as are evoked by the interior spaces of cathedrals.

To our ancestors the ground which grew trees was holy ground. In Celtic culture there is no division between this world and that other world of spirit and soul, either in place or in time. The boundary which we now attempt to draw between the real and the imaginary, between the direct and the indirect, was not a boundary for our ancestors  but a position from which to start a spiral journey or an inner quest.

The trees have been a sufficient inspiration for Jean Noble – sufficient to sustain a focused schedule of work over at least the last three years. The quest of the artist has been fulfilled, and  in this exhibition you can see the result. It is a considerable achievement.

The Cycle of the Trees of Life is comprised of thirteen large panels of identical height and width. The artist also provides sufficient explanatory material to enable our proper appreciation of the Cycle.

So what is the purpose? These paintings deal with what?

Put simply they are a calendar of existence – each month is a tree, each tree is a life. They are turn and return. They are simple yet complex. They are comprised of the ingredients of the patterns of life – the shape of a leaf is also the shape of a tree; the molecule is also a galaxy.

These works are designed to enhance our experience and I would recommend that you take the opportunity to walk into this glade of knowledge and perhaps collect a few leafs for your soul.

© David Brown, 2003

Related Links:

• Jean Noble’s Artwork