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![Archival postcard. Gwydyr Castle in Wales. Large topiary of yew tree next to historical castle under overcast sky. Caernarfonshire, Wales. Taxus baccata.]()
Yew Tree Topiary at Gwydyr Castle, Caernarfonshire, Wales. Found archival postcard. Published by Raphael Tuck & Sons. Date unknown.
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Bleeding Yew
'Bleeding Yew' is a multidisciplinary photography project exploring yew trees' unique regenerative abilities. By investigating the growth patterns and botanical characteristics of the Taxus species, alongside the reciprocal influences between humans and these trees, 'Bleeding Yew' offers insights that may facilitate the extension of reparative relations in the aftermath of power abuse.
Funded partly by an Arts Council England 'Develop Your Creative Practice' grant.
The content of this project contains some references to sexual violence and child sexual abuse.
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![Apple tree. Bleeding Yew. Leeds. West Yorkshire. Medium format photography.]()
Apple Tree. Leeds, West Yorkshire. Medium format photograph. 2020.
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![Bardsea. Lancashire. England. Yew trees. Historical photograph. Early twentieth century. Vintage postcard. Raphael Tuck & Sons. Yew tree. Archival image. Taxus baccata.]()
Bardsea, Lancarshire. Found archival postcard. Published by Raphael Tuck & Sons. c.1904.
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![Landscape photography. Leeds. West Yorkshire. Bleeding Yew. Operation Yewtree. Art therapy. PTSD. Medium format photography. 120mm photo.]()
Leeds, West Yorkshire. 2020.
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![Soldiers Field. Bleeding Yew. Leeds. West Yorkshire. Medium format photography.]()
'Soldier's Field'. Leeds, West Yorkshire. 2020.
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![Land-art photography. Red vegetable dye eco-paint applied to torn patch of autumnal woodland tree. Bleeding Yew. Leeds. Operation Yewtree. Art therapy. PTSD. Medium format photography. 120mm photo.]()
Painted Bleeding Tree. Strained Vegetable Beetroot Paint Applied to Torn Patch on Woodland Tree in Roundhay Park. Leeds, West Yorkshire. Medium format photograph. 2020.
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![Land-art photography. Red vegetable dye eco-paint applied to removed branches on autumnal woodland tree. Bleeding Yew. Operation Yewtree. Art therapy. PTSD. Medium format photography. 120mm photo.]()
Painted Bleeding Tree. Strained Vegetable Beetroot Paint Applied to Removed 'Limbs' (Branches) on Woodland Tree in Gledhow Valley Woods. Leeds, West Yorkshire. Medium format photograph. 2020.
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![Land-art photography. Red vegetable dye eco-paint applied to torn bracket fungi on autumnal woodland tree. Bleeding Yew. Operation Yewtree. Art therapy. PTSD. Medium format photography. 120mm photo.]()
Painted Bleeding Tree. Strained Vegetable Beetroot Paint Applied to Bracket Fungi on Woodland Tree in Gledhow Valley Woods. Leeds, West Yorkshire. Medium format photograph. 2020.
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Archival yew-related imagery was considered during the project’s research period. An edit of these historical photographs, postcards, and illustrations have inspired new analogue photography works, as well as cyanotypes toned with beetroot emulsion. Through presenting visual documentation of interventions performed in the landscape, alongside writing about the regenerative growth patterns of yew trees, the project hopes to hold a candle towards often obscured and inconspicuous forms of violence.
Works have been made in various locations across the UK, such as Leeds, West Yorkshire, where the project began, the Scottish Highland’s Morvern peninsula, Kingley Vale ancient yew grove in the South Downs, West Sussex, and most recently in Regent’s Park, London, where there are many differently shaped yew trees.
An early stage of the project involved applying vegetable beetroot paint to different parts of woodland trees, inspired by bloodlike ‘sap bleeding’ that occurs naturally on some yew trees, especially after rainfall. These open insides highlight the yew’s capacity to grow outwards. The application of the dye pairs the appearance of human blood drawn from traumatic injuries, both emotional and physical, with the regenerative potentials of the yew.
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![Landscape still life photography. Scottish highland landscape window view. Bleeding Yew. Operation Yewtree. Art therapy. PTSD. Medium format photography. 120mm photo.]()
View from the Kitchen on the Croft looking towards the Isle of Mull. Morvern, Scotland. Medium format photograph. 2021.
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![Archival photograph. Black and white. Yew bow. Workbench. The Field Museum. Yew trees. Wood work. Taxus baccata.]()
Yew Longbows on F.S. Barnes' Workbench at Forest Grove (Oregon, U.S.A). 1910. Found archival photograph. The Field Museum Library Archive, Chicago. Digital Identifier: CSB33100.
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![Paint preparation. Knife. Movern. Scotland. Scottish Highlands. Beetroot. Bleeding Yew. Operation Yewtree. Art therapy. PTSD. Medium format photography. 120mm photo. Still life.]()
Paint Preparation - Sliced Beetroot in the Kitchen on the Croft. Morvern, Scotland. Medium format photograph. 2021.
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![Cyanotype. Toned cyanotype. Beetroot toner. Vegetable toner. Vegetable paint. Cameraless photography. Carminotype. Operation Yewtree. Taxus baccata. Art therapy. PTSD. Yew seeds.]()
Carminotype of Yew Seeds. Cyanotype toned with beetroot emulsion. 2024.
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![Yew bow. Field Museum Library. Archival Image. Taxus Baccata. H.R. Richardson. Operation Yewtree. Art therapy. PTSD. Archival photography. Archives. Black and white. Bleeding Yew.]()
H.R. Richardson's Yew Bow at Forest Grove (Oregon, U.S.A). 1910. Found archival photograph. The Field Museum Library Archive, Chicago. Digital Identifier: CSB33100.
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![Landscape photography. Scottish highlands. Morvern. Sound of Mull. Isle of Mull. Bleeding Yew. Operation Yewtree. Art therapy. PTSD. Medium format photography. 120mm photo.]()
The Isle of Mull from Rhemore. Morvern, Scotland. Medium format photograph. 2021.
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'Bleeding Yew' took as its starting point the purportedly neutral name of the investigation into Jimmy Savile’s sexual abuse crimes: Operation Yewtree. Savile, one of the most recognisable television hosts in the UK, was responsible for at least 450 sex offences, and 328 of those were committed against children.
Popular national institutions became implicated in preserving a predatory media culture, allowing his crimes to 'hide in plain sight'. Savile had close ties to the royal family, including Princess Diana and Prince Charles, who sought advice from him on how to connect with the public.
Operation Yewtree was launched in October 2012, the same year I graduated from a high school located in close vicinity of his flat in Leeds. In between, on ‘Soldiers’ Field’, were also the sites of where several Peter Sutcliffe (known as the Yorkshire Ripper) attacks took place in the 1970s.
Three 'Painted Bleeding Trees' were made near to these locations.
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