As Long As This Exists
- Artist:
- Type: Painting
- Medium: Oil and Resin on Paper
- Production Date: 2015
- Description: Based on drawings of trees on site at Auschwitz concentration camp, O‘wi‘cim, Poland and archival images of a tree that Anne Frank could see from the secret annexe where she and her family hid from the Nazis in Amsterdam in the 1940s. From her only window to the outside world, Anne Frank could see the sky, birds and a majestic chestnut tree. ‘As long as this exists‘, Anne wrote in her diary, ‘how can I be sad‘‘ The solace Anne found in her tree provided a powerful contrast to the Holocaust unfolding beyond her attic window. And as war narrowed in on Anne and her family, her tree became a vivid reminder that a better world was possible.
‘Anne‘s tree would outlive its namesake by more than 50 years, before being weakened by disease and succumbing to a windstorm in 2010. But today, thanks to dozens of saplings propagated in the months before its death, Anne‘s tree lives on in cities and towns around the world. As the saplings take root, they emerge as living monuments of Anne‘s pursuit of peace and tolerance. In the process, they serve as powerful reminders of the horrors borne by hate and bigotry and the need for collection action in the face of injustice.‘ (The Sapling Project). This work was purchased from the artist after her involvement with the Anne Frank Exhibition in Pathfoot, Jan-March 2015.
- Dimensions: Framed: 102cm (H) x 74.3cm (W)
Unframed: 94cm (H) x cm 66.5(W) - Digital Copy:A digital copy exists.
- Location: Store
- Accession Number: 2016.2
- Contact: University of Stirling Art Collection
