Monument 2009
Monument to the Blue Gum…
Statement
A Commemorative Sculpture at the
Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens
Marcus Tatton has created another of his large wooden vessel forms for permanent installation at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens.
The work utilises wood from the much-revered Blue Gum tree that was deemed unsafe and removed from the Gardens in 2007. The sculpture commemorates the huge old tree that many Tasmanians grew up with, prompting fond memories of playing within its reaches, in the grounds of the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens.
“The sculpture also symbolises reverence for the great forests of Blue Gums in Tasmania which we all inherit when we come to live in this unique part of the world.” Tatton says.
The Blue Gum logs were slabbed and prepared over a period of 12 months at Tatton’s Allens Rivulet farm. The 36 blocks of wood have been built onto a steel armature on site, with foliage of the Blue Gum layered as symbolic mortar between the blocks. The blocks have been treated with the CCA treatment used for telegraph posts, and they are oiled each year to maintain the rich patinated surface into the future.
The constructed sculpture was officially installed at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens to mark the 190th Birthday of the Gardens.