Sycamore Gap tree trunk prints to go on dispay at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art
The five prints taken from a disc of the trunk of the felled Sycamore Gap tree will go on show together at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art from 23 October 2024.
Heartwood by artist printmaker Shona Branigan brings together the five works, which were commissioned by the National Trust after the felling of the tree. Each print in the Heartwood series is different and shows every tree ring, groove and detail from the cross-section of the almost heart shaped trunk of the much-loved tree. The fifth print, which is titled Access, is hand pressed without ink using a process called blind embossing. Visitors can touch the print, feeling for themselves the imprint of every ring of the tree.
Sarah Munro, Director of Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, said: “This will be the first opportunity many people have to see the five prints together, as it’s the first time they’ve been shown together outside of Northumberland, and we’re expecting the exhibition to be hugely popular.
“The prints have not only created a lasting legacy of what was an iconic view for so many people, but they give us the chance to see the beauty of the tree in a new way.”
Shona Branigan said: "I felt privileged to be asked to print Sycamore Gap, and I also felt a responsibility to do my best so that I could honour not only the tree itself but all the people who loved the tree too.
"As a north easterner I have known Sycamore Gap all my life and visited regularly, the tree was such a haven in the wild landscape.
“The actual process of printing the Sycamore gap has been epic.
"It's a really big piece and a slow process due to it all being done by hand, first creating a printable surface from the rough wood, then applying traditional inks, before beginning the slow process of printing using a bone folder tool so that I can reach every nuance of the surface.
"The paper is laid on top and becomes embossed with the 3D shape of the wood and tree rings, which are the embodiment of the landscape in tree cellular form. It's taken several hours, and my muscles are definitely aching after the effort - but, now that the series of prints are complete, I am pleased and proud of my work.
“It's a testament to the tree, to the life of that tree and the lives of other trees to see, to work with it, to see its life, to appreciate it."
Funded by North East Combined Authority and developed in collaboration with the National Trust, Northumberland National Park Authority, Hadrian’s Wall Partnership and Historic England, Heartwood is the first official artistic response created in memory of the much-loved fallen Northumberland tree.
The five prints will be on show at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art from Wednesday 23 October 2024 to Sunday 26 January 2025, with free entry.