Lord of The Woods 

Through the exploration of wet felting, this collection dissects the notion of the freedom found in solitude and the sentiment that inspires the “lord of the woods.”

 

Christoper Knight was a hermit who lived in the Maine woods for 27 years and only ever said a single word. When he was 20 years old, he chose to drive to the edge of the forest, leave his keys in the car and enter the woods with only a tent in hand. Most of his family members assumed he had died, and in a way he had. Knight entered the forest because there was no place for him in modern society.  “I wasn’t content,” Knight says. Before he left he was shy, socially inept, and anxious. Afterwards, he says, “I was lord of the woods.” While in the forest, Knight developed an inclination for deep contemplation, a limitless attention span, and a photographic memory.  Knight spent his years reading books, hiking to watch the fog settle over the valley at dawn, and being content in the serenity and freedom of his solitude. After he was caught for stealing food from nearby homes, he was forced to reintegrate into society to which he became disoriented, depressed, and lonely. He expresses that death seems better than enforced socialization.