THE SHELTER THAT WASN’T THE TRAGEDY AND A PILGRIMAGE THAT INSPIRED AN EXHIBITION
Raphael, made a pilgrimage to France to pay his respects to the fallen of The Somme. He visited The Danger Tree, returning home with a simple memento: soil from the ground where The Danger Tree had once stood. Her father’s reverence made a lasting impression on Scarlett who immersed herself in the history and poetry of the time. When Raphael died, Scarlett made her own pilgrimage to The Danger Tree. “I felt an enormous loss. I also felt a huge connection, through my father, with that part of history. That became the catalyst for The Danger Tree exhibition. I wanted to draw attention to the humanity behind the horror. It is my interpretation of a devastating, yet also touching, part of human history.” The exhibition features ten oil on canvas
paintings, each of which triggers augmented reality layers of hidden reference beneath the surface of the painting. These integrated elements include photographs, audio recordings, text, animated graphics, archive film, music and sound effects. The exhibition space has been transformed into a bombed-out French farmhouse, overlooked by The Danger Tree.“I want the show to have a very visceral context,” notes Scarlett. “The augmented reality will take the viewer even deeper into that process.” Alongside the AR, beneath the surface of each painting sits a very physical embodiment of that era. “I used the soil my father brought back, mixing it into my paint. It became an integral medium in each of the paintings in The Danger Tree. A true enshrinement.”
At 7.15 on the morning of 1 July, 1916, thousands of British and French troops started their fateful advance on foot across No Man’s Land toward the German trenches. Thus began the Battle of The Somme. By the end of that day, more than 57,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers were killed, wounded or missing. Two hours after the start of battle the trenches were so full of dead and dying that troops from The Newfoundlanders -- part of the 29th British Division -- were forced to start their push forward from a quarter of a mile behind the front line. By the time they reached No Man’s Land, the enemy trenches were still half a mile away. The Newfoundlanders headed for the shelter of a gnarled tree, halfway down a slope, one
of the few things left standing on an already shattered landscape. As they made their way down the slope, under a hail of enemy bullets, many of them tucked their chins in, as if they were walking into a blizzard back home. The ones that made it found little respite as the tree was an easy landmark for the German artillery. It became known as The Danger Tree, as it marked the spot where many of the Newfoundlanders would eventually fall that morning. The Battle of The Somme would rage for another five and a half months, finally ending on 18 November. The spot where the Danger Tree stood is still marked today. Though long since replaced, it has become a commemorative gathering point. Four years ago, Scarlett Raven’s father,
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