The Knowledge Tree
“As centuries of dictators have known, an illiterate crowd is the easiest to rule; since the craft of reading cannot be untaught once it has been acquired, the second-best recourse is to limit its scope.” — Alberto Manguel 📚
For this mural in Portsmouth, I drew inspiration from the nearby New Forest 🌳. The Knightwood Oak, a centuries-old giant, became my model.
Trees are silent witnesses to how we treat our planet, and books preserve wisdom, challenging us to resist the black-and-white realities some rulers want us to believe. Reality is complex, and we must keep questioning, keep learning.
For this mural in Portsmouth, I drew inspiration from the nearby New Forest 🌳. The Knightwood Oak, a centuries-old giant, became my model.
Trees are silent witnesses to how we treat our planet, and books preserve wisdom, challenging us to resist the black-and-white realities some rulers want us to believe. Reality is complex, and we must keep questioning, keep learning.
Curated by Andy Phipps for LookUp Festival, Portsmouth 2025
