In anticipation of its historic loan of the Bayeux Tapestry, the British Museum is creating a woodland installation evoking the landscape of 11th-century England inside its forecourt.
From May 16 until June 2, visitors to the London institution will encounter a canopy of 37 silver birch trees along with planters filled with woodland grasses and perennial species that will be placed at the top of the museum’s front steps.
“Tapestry of Trees,” which the museum says will create an “inviting entrance experience,” launches the public programming connected to the Bayeux Tapestry, which will go on view in September as part of a blockbuster exhibition on the Norman Conquest of England.
There are 37 trees or groups of trees spread throughout the Bayeux Tapestry, with many used as a form of visual punctuation to indicate a transition between events. Elsewhere, trees serve to establish a setting, such as Harold traveling through the countryside or Norman scouts looking out from a wooded hillside. Some scholars even claim to identify specific species of trees in the tapestry, such as oak, ash, and beech.
Concept art for “Tapestry of Trees.” Photo courtesy Andy Sturgeon.
Andy Sturgeon, the garden designer behind the installation, aims to recreate the medieval woodland landscape of East Sussex, where the Battle of Hastings took place in 1066, and give visitors a sense of the original colors of the tapestry. Both the rootballs of the trees and the planters will be wrapped in hessian and variously dyed to match the blues, yellows, and reds of the textile. The grasses and perennials placed inside the planters include Guelder Rose, Hazel, Dog Rose, Foxglove, and Male Fern.
“The museum is a vast monochromatic monolith, and I wanted the installation to be colorful and uplifting, and to signify the welcoming of the tapestry to the museum,” Sturgeon said in a statement. “The trees reach out towards the street entrance as if beckoning it to enter.”
Visual rendering of south facade of British Museum with botanical garden by Studio Weave. Image: © Studio Weave.
The British Museum has called the installation a prelude to the redevelopment of its forecourt, which will convert its front lawn into a Mediterranean-style botanical garden and improve visitor flow through permanent “Welcome Pavilions.” Although the design was criticized by some conservationists who argued it disrupted the building’s historic symmetric, it received unanimous support from Camden Council and is set to open in 2027.
With the Bayeux Museum in Normandy undergoing a $40 million renovation, French president Emmanuel Macron announced the loan of the 230-foot-long textile in July last year during a state visit to the U.K. Though some hailed the move as a triumph of Anglo-French relations, others (notably David Hockney) have questioned the wisdom of transporting the delicate 1,000-year-old work, as well its £800 million ($1.1 billion) insurance cover.
Source: Exhibition - news.artnet.com
