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The Sculpture
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| Birked Scar (Birched Scar) was created by planting 200 birch trees around a perfect square of burnt heather 50 x 50 feet. The trunks of the young trees will gradually turn white, and over 70 years they will grow to maturity (50 feet high), forming a white and impenetrable cube. The area of burnt and blackened heather will fade to grey, and after three or four years, the stalks will be bleached white. The heather will then slowly regenerate as the trees continue to grow. |
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| Donald was inspired by the beauty of the site and wished to create something from natural elements that would change with the landscape, year to year, season to season. The use of the square reflects his interest in the way people try to order and control nature, and creates a link between the wild hill and the deliberately planted forest. It reminds us of the way prehistoric people erected stone circles to create places of special importance in the surrounding area, and also makes reference to the practice of landscape painting, whereby elements of the natural world are placed within the geometry of a rectangular or square canvas |
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| The dense forest below runs parallel to the north edge of the work. Natural birch trees can be seen growing along the burn which forms a line where forest and heathland meet. |
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