Poetry of the wilderness
The Powerful Poetry Of Nature
In the summer of 2014, Gabriëlla decided to dedicate a series of her work to the poetry of the forest/wilderness.
Gabriëlla: “Back in those days traveling abroad became impossible for me, so I decided to turn my attention to a nearby biotope: a lake surrounded by a forest, an area where i walk with my husband a lot.”
Your nearest paradise
Gabriëlla repeats it like a mantra: “You don’t have to go far to encounter the poetry of nature. It’s closer than you think. You just have to see it.”
Indeed, why travel thousands of miles to see nature’s wonders while your ecological footprint grows like a Bigfoot? Go outside, get lost on purpose, in your own neighborhood. After a while, maybe after only a few miles, it will hit you, it could be triggered by a detail, maybe because of the light or a shadow, a movement, a color, a sound, a smell and definitely a feeling.
A nearby place called Buitenland
Gabriëlla insists to join her for a walk in her favorite hidden Belgian paradise. And what’s in a name? A bit of irony it seems. This place is called Buitenland, that’s dutch for ‘abroad’.
Gabriëlla: “Look around, isn’t it beautiful here? Sometimes i can’t believe it. It’s poetry that you can discover in your immediate environment, in a small-scale. There’s inspiration everywhere you look. Just take your time to let it in.”
Gabriëlla sitting in her favorite workplace
Welcome to the jungle
Don’t dare to say to Gabriëlla that those are just a bunch of trees and a lake with some waterlilies.
Gabriëlla: “It isn’t banal. It’s a world of silence, beauty, light, contrast and tonality of green and blue with sculptural and meditative aspects, sometimes with hidden people and soundless animals. It’s mysterious.” She points at the vivid green that covers a part of the lake. It looks like real paint, a frog jumps in the water.
A bit later Gabriëlla is painting. Just sitting on her portable chair, right in the middle of a wood path. She focuses on little details, it’s like her mind becomes one with the forest. In times where nature is disappearing very fast, this little scene feels hopeful.
The poetry of the wilderness should be contagious, don’t you think?