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Tree sculptor Tom Harvey with the piece that he has created from the final elm tree at Highbury Fields |
Elm tree saved from chop with sculpture
Sculptor creates a piece for ‘Love’ event that shows how we live alongside foxes
HIGHBURY Fields’ last elm tree has been immortalised in the form of a natural sculpture – to be unveiled at Islington’s Love Your Trees event tomorrow (Saturday).
The dying elm was marked for the chop until tree officers came up with a more novel way of conserving it.
They discovered tree sculptor Tom Harvey on the internet and asked him if he could transform the tree into a work of art.
Armed with a chainsaw, Mr Harvey has turned the 4 metre-tall elm into a depiction of London life, portraying the way humans and foxes live side by side in the inner city.
Mr Harvey worked for 14 days on the piece through wind, rain, sleet and hailstones, taking short tea breaks in the back of his van, and warmth from his small wood-burning oven.
He has been accompanied
by an ongoing shower of compliments and messages of support from passing dog-walkers, joggers and schoolchildren.
Mr Harvey, who spent some time as a forester and tree surgeon after leaving art school, developed his talents with the aid of a chainsaw.
He said: “As soon as I got a chainsaw licence I started doing things with it. I’m interested in making sculptures about every-day events, the world around us.
“This one’s about foxes and people – the fact that there are so many foxes in London living alongside people. The idea is people who are absorbed in their human concerns and not seeing the world around them. In the past, foxes were hunted so the fox in the past was an adversary of people.”
The sculpture will be sprayed with clear-rot treatment, and is expected to last up to 20 years.
Islington Council wants residents to say if they would like to see more sculptures dotted around the borough.
Mr Harvey said: “I like the idea of having a series of sculptures that relate to each other going round the borough, almost creating a bit of a narrative.”
Council tree officer James Chambers said: “If enough people support the idea we’ll certainly do more trees.
“We can’t do it with every tree that dies, but certainly there’s a lot of room where they could fit in very well.
“The elm had almost died a couple of years ago, it wasn’t perfectly clear how. There were three elms left in Highbury Fields, but in the past couple of years they all had to go. So we believe this is the last one in Highbury Fields.”
He added: “As part of the Love Your Trees event we thought it would be good to consider having a sculpture. We looked on the internet and saw Tom’s work and it was the best work. He’s done lots of excellent pieces in the past.”
It will be unveiled at the Love Your Trees event, part of National Tree Week, in Highbury Fields tomorrow (Saturday) from 11am to 5pm.
Children can climb up into the park’s huge plane trees strapped to a safety harness and will even have the chance to listen inside trees, with highly sensitive microphones recording the sound of water moving inside the trunk.
Small trees will also be handed out to take away and plant, as well as guided tree walks and fairy tales. |
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