Sycamore Gap artwork winner announced

The winner of a competition to turn the wood of the illegally felled Sycamore Gap tree into an artwork has been announced.

Six artists were shortlisted for the National Trust commission, which aims to shape the tree's next chapter by using half its timber.

Helix Arts and George King Architects won the contest after a national public vote and final decision by a judging panel.

The arts charity and architects studio, based in North Shields and London respectively, collaborated on an idea called The People's Tree combining public participation, sound, architecture and storytelling.

Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, from Cumbria, travelled to Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland during Storm Agnes in 2023 to cut it down.

Their actions, for which they were jailed, sparked national outrage and an outpouring of grief for the landmark thought to have been planted in the late 1880s.

Rather than centring on a single memorial, the artwork will involve a UK-wide programme with members of the public invited to record reflections on their own relationships with trees and nature.

Alongside these sound and spoken word recordings, the artists will create a digital soundtrack by scanning the tree's rings.

The final compilation of stories and audio will then be presented through a series of exhibitions and workshops held to the north, south, east and west of the spot where the tree grew.

Sections of some of the seasoned wood will also be used to create artworks with communities and local artists.

The project will culminate in a "sound sculpture" – an artwork including some of the wood as well as the archive of stories and nature sounds, which will be placed in an accessible location along Hadrian's Wall.

Cheryl Gavin, director at Helix Arts, said the idea stemmed "from a belief that the legacy of the Sycamore Gap tree lives not only in its wood, but in the relationships, memories and moments of connection it sparked".

George King, from George King Architects, said: "The tree as it was can never be replaced, but what we can do is create a place for reflection and connections."

Annie Reilly, public engagement director at the National Trust and chairwoman of the judging panel, said the proposal stood out because it "puts a real conversation between people and the tree at its heart".

"It doesn't try to give one answer to loss," she said.

"Instead, it invites people to listen, reflect and reconnect - with nature and with each other."

Helix Arts and George King Architects will work with the National Trust, local partners and communities along Hadrian's Wall.

Public participation is expected to start from this summer, with the completed work to be realised by next year.

The initiative is part of a wider public engagement programme responding to the tree's felling, supported by Northumberland National Park Authority, Historic England, the Hadrian's Wall Partnership and the National Trust.

So far, the main section of the trunk has been installed at the gateway to Northumberland National Park.

Heartwood prints from a cross-section of the trunk, created by printmaker Shona Branigan, are now on display at Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland.

UK communities were invited to apply for one of the 49 saplings grown from seeds rescued from the original tree, which have now been planted across the country.

The National Trust also confirmed on Saturday that, for the third-consecutive year, several shoots are growing from the stump, giving hope that one day a new tree will stand on the spot.

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