The Witness Tree
Artist Name(s) | Daphne Wright |
Artwork title | The Witness Tree |
Context/Background | Irish artist Daphne Wright was awarded the commission for Castlebar Courthouse, arising from an open two-stage public art competition run by Mayo County Council. The art work is entitled The Witness Tree, and was made of cast, translucent white marble resin. The artist chose one of the oldest trees on the mall and using a process of "living casting" created a three-dimensional picture of the tree.
In this way, the artist captured the elegant form of the tree, including surface detail, without in any way harming the living tree. Wright and her team, Lisa Scantlerbury and Mark Plenderleith, completed the work in Bristol and it was sited and launched in Castlebar in 2005. To the artist The Witness Tree is a marker of time. The tree has many common references, knowledge, wisdom, judgement and punishment. The newly-refurbished courthouse is a very elegant space which required a sensitive response.
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Description | The Witness Tree is a cast translucent white marble artwork situated in the foyer of Castlebar Courthouse. The artist used a process of 'living casting' to create a three-dimensional picture of the tree. The height of the piece is approximately 6m, with a diameter of approximately 700mm. This work stretches over two levels of the building towards the atrium. Daphne Wright found her inspiration through looking at old photographs. She states: |
Biographies | Daphne Wright is a very experienced and well-respected artist, whose work involves installations appropriate to particular spaces. Wright's work was the subject of a solo exhibition at Limerick City Art Gallery in 2006. Wright has been involved in several important international group exhibitions, notably 0044 touring PS1, New York; Albright Knox Museum, Buffalo; Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, 1999/2000 and From a Distance: Approaching Landscape at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. She has had major solo exhibitions including; Where Do Broken Hearts Go? at the Douglas Hyde Galley, Dublin in 2000; These Talking Walls at the New Art Centre Sculpture Park and Gallery, Roche Court, Wiltshire; Nonsense and Death at the Sligo Art Gallery, Sligo, Ireland; and Sires at Frith Street Gallery, London in 2003. |
Commission Type | Local Authority |
Commissioner Name | Mayo County Council |
Commissioning process | Open Submission |
Project commission dates | May 18, 2004 - October 30, 2004 |
Public Presentation dates | February 10, 2005 - January 1, 1970 |
Artform | Visual Arts |
Funded By | Other |
Percent for art | Yes |
Budget Range | 35000 - 70000 euro |
Project commission start date | 18/05/2004 |
Project commission end date | 30/10/2004 |
Location | Castlebar Courthouse |
County | Mayo |
Town | Castlebar |
Street Address | The Mall, Castlebar |
Google Map Insert | View this projects location |
Content contributor(s) | Gaynor Seville |
Relationship to project | Public Art Co-ordinator |