Hollow Bodies

Project Info

Working with three sections of windblown Scots pine sourced from the Cairngorms, Hollow Bodies is a sculptural exploration of vulnerability, resilience and our relationship with the natural world.

Each sculpture responds to the life of its tree, examining the traces left by time and landscape. Through the stripping of bark, burning of trunks, casting of branches in pewter and coating with pine tar, the works reinterpret the natural processes that have shaped the timber. Together, they invite reflection on how living things are shaped by their environments and how protection, adaptation and survival are intertwined.

The scale of the sculptures is at once intimate and monumental, creating a powerful connection to both the human body and the expansive Scottish Highlands from which they came. Stripped of their bark – their natural protective layer – the trunks appear newly exposed, complicating a narrative of strength and growth with one of fragility and mortality.

Each tree is treated as an individual. Removed bark and branch ends were cast in pewter before being reintroduced, replacing the original end grain with metallic counterparts that speak of absence, repair and endurance. Burnt surfaces and pine tar further enrich the timber, creating a body of work that celebrates the expressive and symbolic potential of wood through material transformation.