Public Artwork
When The Forest Moves
Location:
Toronto Sculpture Garden, 115 King Street East, Toronto, ON, M5C 1G6, Canada
See map: Google Maps
Artwork creator(s):
Quigley, Warren
Text author(s):
Shakespeare, William
Installation year:
1995 Description:
The installation takes the form of three maple trees, with their burlap-wrapped root bags intact, situated at the end of a sculpted earth furrow which seems to have been dug out by the Northbound scraping movement of the trees. Contained in the furrow is a residual trail of cast bronze text; this text, in hand-written script, consists of the story of the advancing trees in Macbeth.
Text of the artwork:
ACT 4. SCENE I Third Apparition Be lion-mettled, proud; and take no care Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are: Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him. Macbeth That will never be Who can impress the forest, bid the tree Unfix his earth-bound root?
ACT 5. SCENE V Messenger As I did stand my watch upon the hill, I look'd toward Birnam, and anon, methought, The wood began to move.
Text theme:
The fall of Macbeth (main character in the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare); the play, Macbeth (Act IV, Scene I, Act V, scene V) by William Shakespeare
Artwork theme:
Global warming, environmental destruction, collapse of modern civilization
History:
Toronto Sculpture Garden
Event date(s):
1995 Dimensions:
Height:
5m
Width:
30m
Artist's biography:
Warren Quigley
Author's biography:
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Document(s):
Syndicate
