Every growth ring, intricate groove and tiny detail from a section of trunk of the felled Sycamore Gap tree will be on display in the first official artistic response to its loss 10 months ago.
The National Trust said it had asked the printmaker Shona Branigan to make commemorative artworks in memory of a tree that was loved and known across the world and that many considered part of the DNA of north-east England.
The tree was planted as a landscape feature in a dell on Hadrian’s Wall 150 years ago. Its criminal felling on 28 September last year led to an outpouring of anger.
Branigan was approached to made art directly from the tree. Five prints were created from a 90cm disc of the felled tree’s heart-shaped trunk with four of them coloured and given the names Knowledge, Spirituality, Landscape and History.
A fifth, titled Access, was hand-pressed on to heritage rag paper without ink in a process called blind embossing, to give a tactile experience.
The large prints will go on display at four locations close to the wall, from Newcastle to Carlisle.
Branigan said she felt privileged to be asked to print Sycamore Gap. “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.”
Branigan made the prints, collectively titled Heartwood, using traditional methods and materials at her studio in Grizedale Forest in the Lake District.
“The actual process of printing the Sycamore Gap has been epic,” she said. “It’s a really big piece and a slow process due to it all being done by hand.”
Andrew Poad, general manager for the National Trust at Hadrian’s Wall, said the aim was to create further opportunities for the public to connect with the tree.
“Heartwood will be a space for just that,” he said. “For people to respond and engage with Shona’s exceptionally beautiful artworks that capture the very essence, the ‘heart’ of the tree.”
The pieces were welcomed by the North East metro mayor, Kim McGuinness. “Our iconic tree can never be replaced but this beautiful artwork allows its memory to live on,” she said.
“The loss of the Sycamore Gap tree was a devastating moment for me and for so many others across the region and the world. I’m so pleased that something positive can come from this.”
The prints go on display from 15 July to 1 September at Newcastle city library, Hexham Abbey, Housesteads visitor centre and Carlisle tourist information centre.
All five will then be displayed together at the Queen’s Hall, Hexham, from 6 September to 19 October.
The National Trust said the prints were part of a programme of legacy work being developed after thousands of suggestions for ways of remembering Sycamore Gap. More details would be shared in the coming months, it said.
Two men charged with the criminal damage of the tree are due to face crown court trial in December. They have denied the charges.
