Anna Robertson
In March of 2018, I was sitting under a large tree on an island off the coast of Georgia. I was recovering from my laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis, a chronic condition where tissue that grows within the uterus that is shed during a menstrual cycle instead grows outside the uterus and other organs. I had not quite healed, but all I wanted to do was get on with my life. I felt alone in my pain, frustrated, and angry at my body.
I sat on the beach under the giant tree, still healing, and stared up at the tree. As I did, I noticed the ferns and Spanish Moss growing from the bark of the tree, separate from the tree, but also part of it, strangling, and maybe painful, but the most beautiful thing I had seen.
And I thought, in a way, that was me. I was the tree with the strangling vines, alive, encompassed, and beautiful. I became fascinated with the mirror between humans and nature, the repetition of patterns between the two. I’ve dedicated my work to this symbiosis and how I fit into both worlds.
My name is Anna Robertson, and this is my heart and soul in your hands.