'I do not have a single favorite image from my work, but I do have wonderful memories of all my patient muses who shaped the image, and of how the idea came to me. I remember how The Tree of Desire came into being a long time ago. It was in the nineties. Anything was possible then, and everyone had time.
Interns and models came forward to volunteer. Everyone was willing to lie on the copier, even naked. Every body part—especially those of women and children—had been placed on the copier glass and arranged in the most unlikely positions.
But now I wanted to make a large green tree, a paradisiacal tree of desire with many breasts, faces, hands, legs, and feet intertwined. I wanted lots of green apples on the tree, made from breasts painted green, and leaves made from green fingers. And yes, something I had never done before: I wanted to give the tree male genitals. But whom could I ask?
Maurice Scheltens, who was my intern at the time, told me, "No problem," and arrived with an entire class of girls and boys. Five or six at a time painted arms and legs and breasts, and one of the boys painted his penis green. All I had to do was say what I wanted. While I spent hours arranging the painted limbs on the glass, the others waited patiently in the sun on the balcony. They made coffee and tea, prepared sandwiches and drinks for me, and helped me with the lighting.
There was a wonderful atmosphere in my studio. That evening, after they had left, I wrestled with all those copies on the floor, trying to combine them into one large tree. They all returned the next morning, painted their bodies green again as if it were the most normal thing in the world, and we continued.
The white floor of my studio had turned completely green-brown from the painted limbs. It became a beautiful image with an entire story. Compositionally, it works well. Birds live in it, and many ripe apples hang from it. A gnome lives in the tree, and a couple kiss in the crown. In fact, if you look closely, it is one man embracing, kissing, and playing with many women.
Text: Lieve Prins
Name: Lieve Prins (1948)
Place of residence: Amsterdam
Info: www.lieveprins.com
