Tree of Life (2024) KLA ART ‘24, Kampala, Uganda
The Tree of Life is a tactile crochet installation that draws from a fundamental archetype present across many mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions. The tree, often understood as sacred, symbolizes the connection between earth and heaven, the cycle of life and death, and the shared source of vitality that links all beings.
This immersive installation invites audiences to step into the hollow trunk of a handwoven tree made from 8,000 meters of hand-dyed sisal rope. At its core, the work celebrates the significance of Indigenous trees as anchors of both ecological balance and cultural memory. By housing seedlings of medicinal trees from Gulu, Uganda, the installation underscores the healing power of trees; spiritually, physically, and environmentally.
Accompanied by a soundscape of oral knowledge, The Tree of Life honors the spiritual and ecological role of Indigenous trees while also reflecting on the urgent threat of deforestation and climate change. The work becomes both a sanctuary and a stage; inviting reflection, remembrance, and reconnection with the living force that sustains us all.
Hollow Tree, Embodying Liberation - a poem by Seyi Adelekun (2022)
Hollow tree
We are not rotten inside
Our emptiness is not voidness
As these oppressive systems
Try to keep us disconnected from the land
We are grieving and longing to return home
To remember our lost knowledge
Hollow, yet whole
We are carving space for freedom
Portals to new worlds and possibilities
Meditating in the shadows
The liminal spaces
Where collective grief and gratitude are held
Feel the earth underneath you
Mother, wrapped around you
Radiating energy of love and care
Rooted beings
What does it mean to be spacious?
We are not the contraction
We are expansive and fluid
Our bodies extensions of the earth
The earth an extension of our bodies
Manoeuvring and penetrating
Connecting to our kindred souls
Through tender and resilient networks
Forming communities and ecosystems of care
Honouring our ancestors
Let them remind us of who we are
Stewards of the land
Foraging, rewilding our minds
In harmony with nature
Interbeing
We embody freedom
As a collective project
A collaborative process
Through our ceremonies
Our spiritual rituals
We channel the divine life force
Aṣẹ, aṣẹ, aṣẹ ooo
(Inspired by The Hollow Tree, Hampstead Heath
and the teachings of Lama Rod Owens and Thich Nhat Hanh)
To find out more about The Tree of Life click here
Worm Moon - Mud Meditation
In March 2024, during the brief time between the Spring Equinox and that month's full moon, the Worm Moon, women gathered together with artist Seyi Adelekun and sound recordist Madison Carter in Idle Women's allotment in Accrington. The Worm Moon gets its name from the earthworms that wriggle up through layers of soil and clay at this time in the year aerating the soil as they move and welcoming in spring. Seyi led the women in a meditation on this precise time of the year, connecting them to soil, and to each other.
The artist invites you to download this meditation to your phone and then go outside, find somewhere you can connect with the ground, remove your shoes, and listen. You can select the full version to hear the meditation performed by Seyi and the women that gathered together in March 2024, or simply listen to the meditation itself (short version). You can also listen on this page using the audio or video players above (full version). The video includes burned-in captions and allows you to scrub through the work.
Click the following link to access the Worm Moon meditation and to find out more about the project here