‘Heartwood’ by artist printmaker Shona Branigan brings together five works at Baltic, all inspired by the tree at Sycamore Gap, which were commissioned by the National Trust.

The deliberate cutting down of the tree at Sycamore Gap remains a shocking event for many and it produced a huge response from our region and beyond, not least among artists. One such artist is Shona Branigan and she has produced five prints that were taken from a disc of the trunk of the felled tree. Each print in the series is different and shows every tree ring, groove and detail from the cross-section of the almost heart-shaped trunk. The fifth print ‘Access’ is hand-pressed without ink using a process called blind embossing. This will give visitors the chance to touch the print, and let them feel for themselves the imprint of every ring of the tree.

Shona Branigan: Heartwood (Sycamore Gap), until 26 January, Baltic, Gateshead, baltic.art