Pullulate I is from Christian Bernard Singer’s Pullulate series of seven hagstones, each containing individually painted and glued pine needles that appear to grow out of the sides and tops of the rocks. Although both pine needles and rocks are part of larger cyclic events of the natural world, offering nutrients to the land, we tend to consider them dead. Inside the cavities of the hagstones, individual pine needles have been individually glued and painted bright green, breathing new life into them. The colour green serves as a powerful metaphor for the awakening and renewal of nature while suggesting a multitude of meanings: fertility, balance, harmony, hope and optimism – an antidote to Climate Change. Wall-mounted and “presented” on silk cushions, this series explores our relationship to death and the possibility of rebirth.

Sourced along the beaches of Georgian Bay, each hagstone is chosen for its natural holes caused by the erosive action of water. For Singer, these stones, with their unique stories and imperfections, serve as both a canvas and a vessel for transformation. Hagstones stones are associated with a long history of superstition and folklore, particularly in various cultures in Europe and North America, as they are believed to possess protective and magical properties.

The definition of “pullulate” is:

verb (used without object), pul·lu·lat·ed, pul·lu·lat·ing.

to send forth sprouts, buds, etc.; germinate; sprout.

to breed, produce, or create rapidly.

to increase rapidly; multiply.

to exist abundantly; swarm; teem.

to be produced as offspring.