Hmmmmm... Can't really say I'm a great 'judge' or one for offering critiques, but I'll throw in my thoughts.
This is all JMHO...
B&W - quite effective and suits the stark nature of the trees. Upon close inspection of the tree trunks, texture information is indistinguishable from JPEG artefacts, but it's all so close to black level it doesn't matter anyway. Quite simply, for the casual viewer, the trees are in silhouette. I have always liked effective silhouettes and this one works for me. Another thought is that, with the composition of this image, there is a question as to whether the trees are in silhouette or are just black trees - charred perhaps.
Another thing that appeals to me is the contrast between the sharp focus of the trees and the (seemingly) soft focus of the background (clouds? - or have you been fiddling?
)
The areas of light and shade are balanced and the histogram is excellent.
As for an artistic interpretation .... this is not my strong suit ... but since it's presented as an 'abstract', I might offer this thought... the white area in the lower centre-right gives me an impression of a spirit leaving the main tree (heading off to the right of frame) which highlights the lifelessness of the black and barren branches.
B&W photography
can provide an additional dramatic element, which, IMHO, it does here - and quite well.
Hope that is of some use to you...