Local photographer Terence Lane brings us his inspiring photography exhibition ‘Sciryuda’
Sciryuda means ‘the wood belonging to the shire’ and is the earliest known name for Sherwood Forest, first documented at the time of the Danelaw about a thousand years ago.
A primeval forest and once covering a very large area, Sciryuda is an ethereal wilderness, a place of extreme beauty, tranquillity, presence, movement, light, darkness and time.
Sciryuda is now much smaller and due to many thousands of oak trees being felled along with the development of agriculture and industry it is now rather fragmented. What remains of this forest, Sciryuda, is partly accessible to the public and by going off the beaten track and then listening and observing carefully you can imagine and almost place yourself moving back and forth across time.
I have lived in and around Sciryuda for much of my life. Contemplating the many myths, legends and the people who have ruled over, controlled, managed and looked after Sciryuda, my purpose has been to depict this ancient forest in one part of its journey to wherever it is going. These images have not been made to provide a documentary record and are not necessarily of areas within the forest that visitors will immediately recognise, rather a reflection or indication of the deep heart of Sciryuda, its fragility, its strength. Working within Sherwood Forest the craftsmen responsible for the leaf carvings in Southwell Minster would have been inspired by scenes similar to those presented in these images.
The ancient forest, Sciryuda is never still; living, it moves and flows. Seeing, hearing, feeling, witnessing and connecting with this area of nature can be both exhilarating and uplifting.
Terence Lane.
This exhibition can be viewed during normal Minster opening hours, 8am – 7pm
For more info see http://www.terencelane.com/