Sycamore Gap tree trunk installation to go on display

A large piece of the Sycamore Gap tree which was illegally felled is to go on public display, with visitors encouraged to touch or even hug its trunk.

Artist Charlie Whinney has been commissioned to create an artwork in tribute to the much-loved tree which stood beside Hadrian’s Wall and was a symbol of Northumberland, a place for family memories and a beautiful link to the natural world.

A 6ft section of the trunk was preserved after it was chopped down in the middle of the night in September 2023, and almost two years later it has been made into a striking installation.

A section of the Sycamore Gap tree was preserved to be made into this piece (Bigger Picture/Northumberland National Park Authority/PA)

It will go on display just two miles from where it once stood, at The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre.

Following public consultation, Mr Whinney has created a piece where people can sit on three benches around the trunk, looking at words of poetry that come up from the ground and form a canopy.

From speaking to people, the sculptor was convinced that they would want to touch and even hug the remnant of the felled tree which meant so much to so many.

Mr Whinney said: “This commission has been the biggest honour of my career.

The artist used words from the public and inscribed them on curved branches that form a canopy (Bigger Picture/Northumberland National Park Authority/PA)

“The work has pushed and challenged my practice in every way – and completely changed how I view individual trees.

“I learned a huge amount getting to know more about the project and the amazing people involved, and we also used every single tool in the workshop.

“The work acknowledges a moment in time when the nation reacted to the felling of a single tree which is massively significant in a time when our culture is not so connected to the natural world we are all part of.
“We’ve used words people said at the time in the work arranged as a branching organic sculptural poem.

The tree was beloved by the public, sitting in a fold in the landscape beside Hadrian’s Wall (Owen Humphreys/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Owen Humphreys

“I really hope what we’ve done in some small way allows the people of Northumberland and those who held this tree close to their hearts to process the loss they still feel from that day in September 2023, when the tree was illegally cut down.

“The work looks forward with hope, the tree is regrowing, and Sycamore Gap will always be a magical place to visit.”

Tony Gates, chief executive of Northumberland National Park, said: “This was the people’s tree and so from the start, we knew there had to be a public-led response.

“This artwork is a collective collaboration with and for the public and symbolises our deep and lasting relationship with nature.

People were devastated when the tree was senselessly felled in September 2023 (Owen Humphreys/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Owen Humphreys

“The original tree may be gone in the form we knew it, but its legacy remains, and what has come since has been endlessly positive, affirming our belief that people nature and place cannot be separated and are interdependent.”

The tree was felled in what prosecutors called a “moronic mission” by Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers in September 2023 and its destruction caused an outpouring of anger and disbelief.

The pair were convicted of criminal damage following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court and will be sentenced on Tuesday July 15.

The exhibit opens to the public on Friday 11 July at 10am at The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre, Northumberland, with visitors able to then walk to the fenced off site where the Sycamore Gap stump is showing signs of life with new growth apparent.