Shani Bensimon





Constable’s Pine tree, today
distilled turpentine
John Constable’s Pine tree, c.1833
Volatile Organic Compounds

I collected resin from Constable’s pine tree and distilled it into turpentine. The turpentine is intended for conservation laboratories to restore Constable’s paintings.

Turpentine is a solvent; highly volatile and can easily dissolve an image - but it can also reunite and stabilize fragmented layers of paint.


a transparent, conceptual painting nested within Constable’s own.

2024-2025