ISLA

Kew Gardens, Wakehurst, UK
2022

Isla is suspended across Westwood Valley at Kew Gardens, Wakehurst. The sculpture is inspired by Kew's research into a high altitude tundra ecosystem in the Colombian Andes called the paramos. The sculpture is based on John’s direct study in 2021 of a plant called a freilejon (Espeletia) growing in the Chingaza range above Bogota, Colombia.

When the sculpture collects water by channeling rain through its cast leaves into its lower base, the sculpture divides in half. As the water collected in reservoirs within the lower half of the sculpture gradually evaporates, it slowly rises back into unison with the upper half of the sculpture. This process mimics the capacity of the freilejon to collect and store water during the dry seasons in the paramos.

The sculpture is 40 feet wide and 25 feet tall. The sculpture's 6000 cast resin parts range in scale from 28" long within its lower section to only 3" long at its upper perimeter. The sculpture weighs 260 pounds without water and spans 100 feet between the trees that support it on either side of the valley.

Commissioned by Kew Gardens.