Heartwood (Sycamore Gap)

This autumn visitors to Baltic will have the opportunity to view five bespoke tree prints created from a disc of the trunk of the felled Sycamore Gap tree. Commissioned by the National Trust and created by printmaker Shona Branigan, Heartwood shows every tree ring, groove and detail from the cross-section of the almost heart shaped trunk of the iconic tree.

Each print has unique depth, context and colourways, with names linked to the Sycamore Gap tree and its historic location. ‘Knowledge’ is gold ink; ‘Spirituality’ is blue, ultramarine ink, with iridescent electric blue, purple and hansa yellow watercolours; ‘Landscape’ is burnt umber ink with sap green and yellow ochre watercolour; ‘History’ is Venetian red ink and Hansa yellow deep watercolour. And the fifth print, ‘Access’ is hand pressed onto heritage rag paper without ink in a process called Blind Embossing, presenting a tactile experience, inviting touch along the rings of the tree.

Shona Branigan is an artist printmaker working from a studio in Grizedale Forest, creating wood prints, wood engravings, woodcuts and Drypoint. Inspired by the feelings and thoughts that arose from the loss of the Sycamore Gap Tree, Branigan has created the Heartwood exhibition from a disc of the trunk of the iconic tree.