The Life of a Forest / Burial Place of a Book (2013)

“The book I have buried at the borderline between the town and the forest is titled “Life Of a Forest” by P. Svoboda (Brázda, Praha 1952, 1st issue., 894 pages + register, 147 schemes and graphs in text, 77 photo/inlays.). It is a textbook for forestry studies from 1952. Forestry education was conditioned by mining activities in Schemnitz and it was relevant while the mining industry was active here. I have buried the book in order to return it to the soil the book wrote about. By its continuous degradation under the roots of trees, the knowledge about the forest will be symbolically reabsorbed and the care of the forest will be let to the forest itself. Burying of books is, by the way, an old Jewish tradition that does not allow throwing away of used books containing the name of God.”