Guardians of Time
Guardians of Time is what it feels like to realise that you have never been growing entirely alone, and that the support that has shaped you has been there long before you noticed it.
I was drawn to how close some of these trees grow together. These are enormous, ancient trees. And yet here was a small sapling that had spouted within the curve of one of the great tree's exposed roots, sheltered from the wind that could have snapped it, sheltered enough that it could begin. The vast tree's canopy was casting a deep shadow. But the sunlight was still finding the sapling's leaves, still feeding it through the gaps, still reaching it even there. I couldn't see the whole of the larger tree. It was too enormous for the frame. What I could see was the relationship between them.
Guardians of Time takes me back to family every time I look at it. To my grandparents and the conversations that helped shape who I am. To the friends who held space for me when I was rebuilding. To the realisation that the people who carry wisdom don't diminish you by being larger or older or further along. They shelter you while you grow toward the light that is already yours.
You don't need to be the oldest, wisest, or most established thing in the room. You only need to grow within the right relationships. Guardians of Time is a reminder that those relationships, the ones that have quietly shaped you, have been part of your story for longer than you may have realised.
