As the After the Storm exhibition continues to attract a large and appreciative audience in the John Hope Gateway, this week we are launching the much anticipated After the Storm publication. This attractive hardback publication has been designed by Alex Simpkin in collaboration with the exhibition co-ordinator Jenny Salmean. The book features photographs of After the Storm furniture pieces by Pavel Tamm, shot in the Garden on a lovely frosty week in December in the place where the original tree stood.
The book includes essays by Robert Penn (author of The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees) on forest bathing, Jonathan Rose (chair of the Scottish Furniture Makers Association) on his tsunami cabinet and myself, Ian Edwards, on the importance of disturbance in driving change. A photo essay by Patricia Macdonald on regeneration includes an aerial view of the braided river at Glen Feshie that is currently on show in the John Hope Gateway and the National Portrait Gallery.
The book attempts to link the themes of storms, regeneration and resilience with current issues in health and the environment. It argues that cultural and biological diversity are not luxuries but essential elements for restoring systems damaged by trauma of all kinds.
The book concludes with ‘Foremost among the creative crafts that we must protect to future-proof our planet is working with wood … which has the unique ability to capture carbon in perpetuity and thus contribute to establishing a more stable environment to the benefit of all life.’
The After the Storm book is available from the John Hope Gateway or on the RBGE Shopify site (https://rbge-publications.myshopify.com/) price £10. The exhibition continues in the Gateway until the 28 May 2017 admission free.