Amazonia Tree of Life

Studio Orta - 5518.01_04
Studio Orta - 5518.01_01
Studio Orta - 5518.01_03
Studio Orta - 5518.01_02
Studio Orta - 5518.01_08
Studio Orta - 5518.01_05
Studio Orta - 5518.01_06
Studio Orta - 5518.01_07
Studio Orta - 5518.01_09

Date: 2013
Ref: 5570
Materials: Bronze, Murano glass, UTM certificate of moral ownership
Dimensions: Bronze: 135 x 55 x 65cm plinth
Catalogued: Glasstress 2013: White Light White Heat, catalogue 55th Venice Biennale
Exhibition history: 2013 Palazzo Franchetti, Glasstress, 55th Venice Biennale, Italy; The Wallace Collection London, UK
Courtesy: Private Collection

Tree of Life is a magnificent bronze olive branch sourced from the Tuscan olive groves onto which are carefully grafted the delicate flowers blown by the glass maestros Danilo Zanella at the Berengo Studio in Murano, Venice. 

The artists have been photographing flowers since their expedition to the Amazon rainforest in 2009. Their ever-growing collection of florilegium their inspiration for many of their artworks including drawings, couture, porcelain, and glass. 

Tree of Life forms part of Lucy + Jorge Orta’s ambitious Perpetual Amazonia campaign, whereby each artwork in the series Amazonia is accompanied by a certificate of ‘moral ownership’ assigned to a precise plot measuring one metre by one metre in the Amazon rainforest. Through the acquisition of an artwork, the Perpetual Amazonia project aims to restore our focus to the world around us, both its beauty and its imperiled state. By taking ownership, the project seeks to perpetuate the importance of the rainforest to the health of our planet and to convey its value to our daily lives.