Native Tongue

Auckland Botanic Gardens, NZ — 2011

Flanked by groves of Australian gum and New Zealand totara, the ancient kauri sculpture, Native Tongue, positions prehistory at centre-stage.  The solid timber sculpture is carved from the heartwood of a single giant tree buried at the end of the last Ice Age, a rare and precious timber radio carbon-dated at over 45,000 years old.  Re-earthed and shaped as a monumental I/One, the kauri I-form reconnects humanity with primordial beginnings. With a curved geometry and silky smooth to touch, the alpha native invites deep contemplation and seduces eyes, hands, hearts, and minds.