Explore the history of the planet with artist Katie Paterson and Zeller & Moye and their public artwork for Bristol, UK.
growing part of the tree: from the Indian Banyan Tree, under which the Buddha achieved enlightenment; to the Japanese Gingko tree in Hiroshima (a tree that witnessed and survived one of the darkest moments of human history); to common, but no less remarkable trees. Entering Hollow is to enter the history of our planet.
internationally for its research in Life Sciences − addressing many of the acute challenges that currently face humanity, such as food security, the loss of biodiversity, and climate change.
interior; and ‘By piece’ to explore the full library of wood, either by common name, family type, or continent. Over 1,000 of the wood samples have stories to explore.
"Methuselah" is a 4846 year old Great Basin bristlecone pine tree from the White Mountains of Inyo Country in Eastern California. It is one of the oldest known living non-clonal organism with an estimated germination date of 2833 BC.
"Methuselah" is located between 2,900 and 3,000 m above sea level in the "Methuselah Grove" within the Inyo National Forest.
The tree under which Buddha achieved enlightenment. The aerial roots recall the Cosmic Tree. Watering the foot of the tree and placing offerings there in the form of stones is supposed to bring happiness and especially fertility.
woody trunks when they reach the ground.
As the national tree of the Republic of India, the Indian Banyan is considered sacred, and temples are often built beneath the trees. Known in Hindu mythology as 'the wish-fulfilling tree', banyans represent eternal life and many Indian women water the roots and lay offerings, often in the form of stones, to bring happiness and fertility. In Hinduism, the leaf of the Banyan tree is believed to be the resting place for the god Krishna.
This sample was salvaged from the discarded remnants of the iconic and destroyed Atlantic City Boardwalk - in support of the victims of superstorm Sandy. The wood is pressure treated pine that has been stabilized with Resins. Superstorm Sandy arrived in late October 2012 and devastated the Eastern United States. From Florida to Maine, thousands of people were injured and left homeless. New Jersey and it's shore towns were hit particularly hard.
The Monkey Puzzle Tree is on the Cities Listed Species. It was alive 200 million years ago and rubbed shoulders with the dinosaurs. Its spine-like needles acted as protection from ancient grazing animals now long extinct. It can live for 1,000 years and grows to 50m high with a trunk diameter of over 3m. It grows on the slopes of rocky volcanoes and its bark is fire resistant, so ‘islands’ of trees can even survive lava flows.
considered a living fossil. It has triangular, spiky, sharp leaves and bears large cones. It is considered the national tree of Chile. Due to its memorable, tail-like appearance, the Monkey Puzzle Tree is popularly cultivated in gardens around the world.
In Chile the Monkey Puzzle is called the Pehuén and is sacred to the local Pehuenche people: its large seeds – known as pinones, which take two years to mature – are an ancient staple of their diet. Monkey Puzzle forests have been fast destroyed and degraded due to logging, fire and grazing.
The Gilboa fossil forest, in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York, has for several years been recognized as the the oldest known fossil forest, dating back 385 million years. It was unearthed for the first time since it was discovered and buried by dam workers back in the 1920s.
County, New York, of fossils from the mid-Devonian united the crown of Wattieza to a root and trunk known since 1870, the fossilized grove of "Gilboa stumps" discovered at Gilboa, New York. These fossils have been described as the earliest known trees, standing 8 m (26 ft). This was a major milestone in the understanding of how plants and ecosystems evolved over time. The presence of forests most likely paved the way for more diversification because forests tend to create their own microclimates as well as foster new niches.
Wattieza trees covered vast swaths 385 million years ago, before even amphibians managed to clamber on to land, and had such an impact that they helped to change the planet's atmosphere. They were the monsters of their age and are thought not only to have changed the face of the planet but also to have altered even the chemical composition of the atmosphere.
A twig collected by the artist from the garden of haiku poet Kyorai’s hermitage in Japan. This quaint hermit’s cottage and garden was once the home of one of haiku master Matsuo Basho’s disciples. It bores the poetic name of “Hut of Fallen Persimmons” (Rakushisha). Mukai Kyorai (1651 - 1704) was one of Basho’s major disciples.
to eat on his own, Kyorai sold his persimmons. However, the night of the day before the fruit was going to be picked, a gale blew over the Arashiyama area - a name that itself means 'Stormy Mountain'. All the fruit was destroyed and Kyorai had to pay back the advance money he had received from the merchant. The loss of the persimmons was seen by Kyorai as a humorous lesson not to strive after worldly gain. On top of that, it led to a Satori experience: through the branches of the trees, now bare, Kyorai had an excellent view of Arashiyama.
The creation of Hollow was filmed for BBC Four's What Do Artists Do All Day? series. The documentary followed Katie Paterson over a ten-month period as she assembled the wood collection and created the artwork.
As you enter Hollow all the world’s trees surround you. Locked within the samples of wood under your feet and above your head are many stories that explain the history of the planet. The tree samples can offer us clues to how we might tackle the challenges that face humanity; from food scarcity to climate change. Many of these trees have also witnessed pivotal moments in history that we can only imagine. Here two audio guides offer you the chance to consider these ideas in more depth and to unlock those stories hidden deep within Hollow.
Jon Bridle, Evolutionary Biologist, guides you through an inside view of Hollow, the evolution of species and the future of the planet.
Edson Burton, spoken word artist, takes you on a poetic journey through human history as witnessed by trees.
As you step inside Hollow you are surrounded by millions of years of evolution and human history. Now enter a digital forest and get lost in the stories of trees from today.
Imagine in 50 years time what the landscape of the globe might look like? How many of the trees that surround us now will have become extinct or changed beyond recognition.
To accompany Hollow, Situations in association with BBC Get Creative, launched an open call to build a Treebank in just 50 days.
The result is a digital forest for the future, with stories, illustrations and memories of trees from today. Treebank is an interactive time capsule that preserves our living memory of trees offering a snapshot of the world’s biodiversity.
Collaborating with leading scientists and researchers across the world, Katie Paterson’s poetic and conceptual projects consider our place on Earth in the context of geological time and change.
Katie Paterson's make use of sophisticated technologies and specialist expertise to stage intimate, poetic and philosophical engagements between people and their natural environment. Combining a Romantic sensibility with a research-based approach and coolly minimalist presentation, her work collapses the distance between the viewer and the most distant edges of time and the cosmos.
collections including the Guggenheim, New York and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh.
University in recognition of her ”major contribution in fostering collaboration between the arts and sciences”.
The studio established a unique working method of extensive experimentation for the development of a project in order to articulate meaningful proposals for the contemporary world. Zeller & Moye has designed a wide range of projects at all scales from furniture design to large cultural buildings in different parts of the world.
including work for international practices SANAA in Tokyo and Herzog & de Meuron in Basel and London, leading numerous projects such as the “Tate Modern Project” and the ”Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012”. Zeller & Moye are currently realising a memorial in Kurdistan, Iraq; a low-energy housing project in China; a design museum, two contemporary art galleries and a series of residential projects in Mexico; amongst others.
Christoph Zeller and Ingrid Moye teach at the AA Visiting Schools Berlin and Mexico, a master class in urban studies at the UIA Mexico City and have been jury members, lecturers and guest critics at various universities.
Hollow is free to visit and open to all. Hollow is located to the right of the Tankard's Close entrance to the gardens. The gardens can also be accessed via the entrance on Tyndall Avenue, just follow the path to the other side of the gardens. There is level access into Royal Fort Gardens and the area around Hollow. The entrance to Hollow is narrow with a low step inside. The floor, which comprises fossil fragments, is uneven. The interior is naturally lit and therefore may be dim on cloudy days or at dusk. We would advise only one or two people at a time enter Hollow to fully experience the work. Please tread carefully.
Royal Fort Gardens are open every day of the year and the interior of Hollow is open during daylight hours. Opening times may vary during the summer months and holidays are at the discretion of the University of Bristol.
Created by Katie Paterson and Zeller & Moye. Commissioned by the University of Bristol and produced by Situations. Funded by the University of Bristol and Arts Council England.
The £56.5 million Life Sciences building, opened by Sir David Attenborough in October 2014, is the University’s biggest construction project to-date and signifies its commitment to biological sciences research.
by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the John Ellerman Foundation and the University of the West of England, Bristol. If you’d like to find out more about Situations, sign up to our mailing list.
Web design by Hello Monday.
Sound by Adam Asnan and Carlo Amadio.
To Robert Ritchie in Canada for contributing his life’s wood collection to the project.
To Rachel Cartwright for painstakingly archiving the entire collection.
To Mark Nesbitt at Kew for his support and guidance.
To Gary Foster, Simon Hiscock, Jon Bridle and Heather Whitney and students from the School of Biological Sciences for their advice and insight.
To Hello Monday for creating this beautiful website, and to Adam Asnan and Carlo Amadio for their evocative sound composition.
We acknowledge the guidance and support of past and present members of the University of Bristol Public Art Committee, the team at Situations, Zeller & Moye and the team at Katie Paterson Studio for their commitment to the development of this work over three years. Thanks also to Arnolfini for hosting the sorting of the wood collection in December 2015.