Ai Weiwei’s Iron Tree (2013)

‘Iron Tree comprises 99 elements cast in iron… interlocked using a classic – and here exaggerated – Chinese method of joining, with prominent nuts and screws.’

From the Yorkshire Sculpture Park notes

Glimpsed from a distance, Ai Weiwei’s fake trees pass as real, but dead. As you draw closer, your mind engages with the forms and construction and questions arise. What is it? Why is it? Are the branches actually roots? Is it wood?

Iron Tree (2013) was cast from Tree (2010) which had been assembled from chunks chopped from the roots, trunks and branches of various species of dead trees collected in southern China.

The making is central to the sculpture. No attempt is made to conceal the cuts or joins, to smooth out the lines, or make the sculpture look like a real tree. It’s close enough to give us pause when we see it, but clumsy enough to remind us that humans can’t make trees.

Designed to be outdoors, the sculpture will rust, respond to natural light, and its mood will vary as its surroundings alter with the seasons.

The picture shows Ai Weiwei’s Iron Tree (2013) in the chapel garden at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It’s now in the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids MI.

Shared for Becky’s SquareTops because the Iron Tree’s pieces have been topped and tailed. I love her picture today which also features a tree. I’m also tagging for today’s Discover Prompt (New) as one of the curiosities about Iron Tree is the relationship of new and old.