Hollow houses a miniature forest of all the worlds trees.
Inside Hollow, you will discover over 10,000 unique tree species, which have been gathered by the artist from almost every country on the planet. Under your feet lie fossils, which span 390 million years, and above you thousands of unique tree samples connect across time and space, each with their own story to tell.
The relationship these trees have had with the environment, its water and its sunlight, and the plants, animals and fungi that lived with them, can be traced in the woods surfaces, once the living, 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 their planet.
Hollow was commissioned in 2016 for Royal Fort Gardens in Bristol in South West England, to celebrate the opening of the University of Bristol’s Life Sciences building. The University is renowned 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.
This website offers the opportunity to explore the stories and responses to the artwork, to find out more about the artist, architects and partners involved. Click on ‘Experience Hollow’ to the right, to digitally explore each and every tree species contained within the artwork. Click on ‘Sculpture’ to scroll around a multidimensional view of the 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.
