Known for exploring themes of decay of natural materials, the transitory nature of Gallaccio’s work address the sometimes unsettling and fragile challenges of life cycles. In contrast with using short-lived organic material, Gallaccio also uses more traditional sculptural materials in an attempt to stop the effects of time and preserve living matter.

Blessed confronts the issue of organic impermanence, but in this case, reverses the process by immortalising a tree in bronze and the apples in ceramic, becoming permanently immune to decay. This memorial to a former living object arrives at a price; as the act of casting destroys the tree during the process.

Sited in the Bothy Garden sets up an interesting relationship with the historic fruit trees that line the walls. YSP continues to care for and preserve their legacy, with many of the apple tree varieties around 100 years old, with the first grown here in 1790.