Daniel Steegmann Mangrané Branch with eye, 2024

Embedded in a small section of oak bark, the work appears to look out at its observer. The sections belong to a more than 300 years old oak that recently died of the severe drought from which Catalunya is suffering. The changing climate has altered rainfall and temperature patterns, allowing for invasive species to thrive and fostering plagues, such as the xylophagous bark beetle, endangering forests and stressing flora and fauna. The disembodied eyes of dogs that recur in the new series of sculptural works, emphasize the notion of a natural world that is itself feeling, perceiving and in a constant dialogue with its inhabitants.