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Fake Plastic Paper Trees – by Will Roux nThe title of my exhibition plays on the title of a song by the band Radiohead, called “Fake Plastic Trees”. The song describes a world full of fake, self-centred, plastic people (in their YOUniverse). In a world obsessed with appearances and fake plastic things like plastic surgery and plastic trees, the song is even more relevant, bearing in mind the times we find ourselves in. I found this title very appropriate when I chose trees /forests as the conduit for my body of work, though striking through the word “plastic”, as my medium of choice is paper. nMy ideal Utopia is forests, which are significant to me in many ways. I have childhood memories of afternoons picnicking under Eucalyptus trees at my grandparents’ house. I would lie on the ground staring up into the branches of the trees, watching the leaves as they play in the wind, fascinated by the way the movement created light and shadows. I remember the vast density of the Knysna forest in the Cape, the busy sounds of insects and wildlife all around me, and the wonder of unspoilt nature. nA tree is a very strong symbol – both physically and figuratively. On the one hand a tree is a symbol of life, strong and protective, housing living things like birds and insects. On the other hand trees form the basis of materials that we use in building and industry, such as building human habitations. Trees can also be seen as the lungs of the earth, providing oxygen to the planet so that living things can survive. Trees play an important part in regulating heat in fragile ecosystems around the world that ultimately has a big impact on the world’s climate. Trees are durable: palm trees live to around 50 years, Outeniqua yellowwood trees in the Wilderness live for 800 years, while the Alaska red cedar can live up to 3500 years.