Impregnable Fortress, Shake Hand
The Shake Hand is a slow-growing tree that can grow to impressive heights over hundreds of years. Many of these trees have characteristic spines on the trunk, a fact that is playfully referenced in its local name. Air plants and orchids like the one photographed often attach themselves onto the spines of the plant without harming the tree itself. Here, the artists have placed the trunk of the tree in a powerful stance in the centre of the composition, emphasising the tree as a fortress with a natural barricade to protect its interior. This Impregnable Fortress stands in protection of themselves, our flora, and in turn, our cultural heritage.
About the Artist
Bill Ferehawk and David Hartwell
Known as Collective Artist Collective, Ferehawk and Hartwell live and work in Los Angeles as commercial artists in the film industry. Together they have created numerous works and installations as an ongoing investigation into the ways places and histories are marked and remembered. This series of photographs was taken in 2019 at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park when the pair were Artists-in-Residence at the National Gallery.