Saksit – Vessels of Continuity: A Monumental Brass & Papier-Mâché Tree Sculpture

In ancient times the tree held a sacred and social place. Rituals, gatherings, decisions, and transitions of life happened under the tree. Our ancestors worshipped it, rested beneath it, and trusted it as a witness to human life. It has always been a living archive rooted in the past yet constantly growing forward. Wedding rituals are one of the strongest spaces where this natural passing on still survives. Here language does not exist as words alone. It moves through objects, gestures, vessels, and materials. The hanging vessels on the brass branches represent these rituals each one carrying meaning, memory, and unspoken consent. The black papier mâché trunk stands as a metaphor for preservation for the density, gravity, and integrity that rituals require to retain their meaning. Black here is not absence, but absorption: a colour that holds, protects, and refuses dilution. Like a ritual anchored in continuity, the darkened form evokes strength, endurance, and the quiet resilience needed to withstand erosion in changing times. Today the importance of the tree has reduced, replaced by enclosed spaces and written systems. Through this work the tree is brought back as a ritual centre, a reminder that language like a tree must remain living shared and passed on. To preserve language is not to store it. It is to let it grow and pass upon.