The managers and staff of ‘De Groene Passage’, the centre for the wellbeing of people and environment, are happy and proud that a tree as a work of art has been realised among the plane trees in front of their shops. They far prefer the tree as a messenger of their ideals to some outdoor advertisement.

The importance of a tree can hardly be overestimated. Whether it is

the personal relation of a town-dweller with a chestnut tree in his

back garden or our concern for the disappearance of the tropical rain

forest in Brazil. Many poets have written about trees. In many countries

a tree is the subject of myths, from Buddha sitting under his

tree of Enlightenment to Yggdrasil in the Icelandic Edda.

The artist Hans Lemmen has been concentrating on universal themes

and on nature for more than fifteen years now. Among the

archetypal themes in his work, such as mountain, house, man and

animal, the tree takes a prominent place.

When Hans Lemmen was asked to make a design, after some preliminary

sketching, the image of this tree sprang to his mind. It is a

symbol, both simple and profound - the metaphor of a tree, reaching

out a helping hand to mankind. In this universal gesture the hand is

really inviting to be actually shaken. And, to the surprise of those

who take the trouble to reach out and answer the invitation, it feels

as warm as any human hand!

It is the artist’s hope that this book may send you, reader, on a pilgrimage

to the tree - as people have done since prehistoric times,

when trees were still made of wood.