Artist to create work from Sycamore Gap tree wood after contest winner announced
The National Trust has announced the winner of its competition to turn the wood of the illegally-felled Sycamore Gap tree into an artwork.
Six artists were shortlisted for the commission, which aims to shape the tree’s next chapter by using half of its timber.
Helix Arts and George King Architects won the contest after a national public vote and final decision by an expert judging panel, the National Trust said on Saturday.
The arts charity and architects studio, based in North Shields near Newcastle and London respectively, collaborated on an idea called “The People’s Tree”.
The proposal combines public participation, sound, architecture and storytelling to respond to the loss of the world-famous tree.
It comes after Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, from Cumbria, travelled to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland during Storm Agnes in 2023 to cut it down.
The act of vandalism sparked national outrage and an outpouring of grief for the widely-loved landmark, which is thought to have been planted in the late 1880s.
The National Trust said the winning proposal scored highest across the public vote and the judges.
Rather than centring on a single memorial, the artwork will involve a UK-wide programme where members of the public are invited to record reflections on their own relationships with trees and nature.
Alongside these sound and spoken word recordings, the artists will create a digital soundtrack by scanning the tree’s rings.
The final compilation of stories and audio will then be presented through a series of exhibitions and workshops held to the north, south, east and west of Sycamore Gap.
Sections of some of the seasoned wood will also be used to co-create artworks with communities and local artists.
After these exhibitions and workshops, the project will culminate in a “sound sculpture” – an artwork that includes some of its wood as well as the archive of stories and nature sounds, which will be placed in an accessible location along Hadrian’s Wall.
Cheryl Gavin, director at Helix Arts, said: “To be chosen by both the public and the judging panel feels phenomenal.
“This project comes from a belief that the legacy of the Sycamore Gap tree lives not only in its wood, but in the relationships, memories and moments of connection it sparked.”
George King, from George King Architects, said: “It is a real honour to be entrusted with responding to a place that means so much to so many people.
“The tree as it was can never be replaced, but what we can do is create a place for reflection and connections.”
Annie Reilly, public engagement director at the National Trust and chairwoman of the judging panel, said: “What stood out about this proposal was how it puts a real conversation between people and the tree at its heart.
“It doesn’t try to give one answer to loss. Instead, it invites people to listen, reflect and reconnect — with nature and with each other.”
The project will now move into a development phase, with Helix Arts and George King Architects working closely with the National Trust, local partners and communities along Hadrian’s Wall.
The public’s participation in the project is expected to start from this summer, with the completed work set to be realised by September 2027.
The initiative comes as part of a wider public engagement programme responding to the tree’s felling, supported by Northumberland National Park Authority (NNPA), Historic England, the Hadrian’s Wall Partnership and the National Trust.
So far, the main section of the tree’s trunk has been installed at the gateway to Northumberland National Park, where the tree once stood.
Heartwood prints from a cross-section of the trunk created by printmaker Shona Branigan are now on display at Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland.
UK communities were invited to apply for one of the 49 saplings grown from seeds rescued from the original tree, which have now been planted across the country.
The National Trust also confirmed on Saturday that, for the third consecutive year, several shoots are regrowing from the stump, giving further confidence that one day a new tree will grow in the Gap.
Published: by Radio NewsHub