Kussharo Lake Tree

Description

“In the winter of 2002, I was most fortunate to have a serendipitous meeting with a glorious Japanese Oak on the banks of Kussharo Lake in Hokkaido, Japan. That particular morning was brutally cold, and heavy snow fell relentlessly. The lake was completely frozen over and white. I remember the muffled silence of this place, broken only by the piercing calls of hungry swans as they slid across the ice.

I have photographed countless trees, but this one had a special character, like an oversized bonzai – elegant, and graphically powerful. There was something quintessentially Japanese in its shape, reminiscent of a woodblock print…”

“Kenna’s Tree”, as locals refer to it, was cut down at a very old age in August 2009, but not before it became immortalized by the artist; exhibition prints of various studies of the tree are among Kenna’s most sought-after work. This One Picture Book is the artist’s farewell to one of his great subjects.