At first glance, the images appear like photographs exploring the texture of the bark and their vertical and symmetrical appearance. She portrays a dreamlike vision of tree stems, sans foliage and no other living thing in their presence, inviting our imagination to explore the depths of a mysterious forest - a journey into the unknown -. The drawings examine the technical approach to depicting these birches alongside compositional and atmospheric concerns, frolicking with light and shadow in a densely wooded area.
Dickens’ enduring passion for cinema and film is reflected in her ‘Dr Zhivago’ drawings, where she applies the birch as a metaphor. Referencing Boris Pasternak's novel in a set of nine works, she brings Russia's national emblem into play. The silver birch represents spring, light and love and, in Dickens’ drawings, is a metaphor for the relationship between the characters Lara and Dr Zhivago. Dickens’ notes that Zhivago was not only a Doctor, but he was also a poet hence selecting the silver birch in the same way that a poet might claim an object and uses it as an icon.
Image: Pip Dickens, Woods series IV, 2008, Charcoal on paper, H295 mm x W365 mm.
Courtesy and ©Pip Dickens and Renee Pfister Art & Gallery Consultancy, 2022.
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