Growing Narratives

View Growing Narratives: Passage in Kernel Issue 2.

“Dendrochronology, also called tree-ring dating, [is] the scientific discipline concerned with dating and interpreting past events…” ¹

Tree rings can tell us a lot about the passing of time, their shapes and thicknesses telling us stories of the past. They represent time, growth, and nourishment. Reading a cross section is, however, also an interpretation. The memories we carry can be written and rewritten depending on how we tell our stories - in sustaining our rings, we grow our own narratives.

When we write and rewrite our narratives, when do memories become distorted?

Passage follows the thread of history as tree rings over time. They are malleable, affording the self a new vision of the past as lines thicken and intersect, weaving felt emotions and happenings into fresh narratives.

22 represents the 22 full years I have lived. Each one has taught me something new about myself and nourished me in different areas. These are my growth rings. The thickness at each axis represents the nourishment and growth in individual years and I'm happy to see that the rings are growing thicker with time.