Vitae

Thirsk Hall Sculpture Garden, Thirsk, UK, 2021
Vitae, 2019, Elm tree, 23.5ct gold leaf, 220cm x 100cm x 55cm

Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva was invited to exhibited Vitae in the grounds of Thirsk Hall Sculpture Garden.

Vitae was, one of two elm trees, sustainably sourced from University Park campus in Nottingham in 2019 for a permanent public commission, Eurydice Prevails now sited at the University of Nottingham.

When taken out of the ground one of them was too far damaged, but Elpida decided to keep the unused smaller elm and explore what she might do with it. This tree has a beautiful shape and form and patterns originally developed by the elm bark beetles. After the tree was transported back to her studio, she has carved out all the deadwood. This process of cleaning has given it the current shape. Using the ancient Japanese process of Yakisugi, (a method of wood preservation achieved through the charring of the surface), the internal space has been burnt to make it black. The external skin, if you like, has been fully gilded and has emphasised the lines and motifs exposed by the tunnel-like galleries created by Elm bark beetles, the carriers of Dutch Elm disease. The disease that is estimated to have killed and affected 25 million Elm trees since the 1960s.