Oculus Slab

Unlike its sister work (Oculus Block), Oculus Slab is shown on its side revealing the hole in its middle, where four separate trunks have fused.

  •  
  • Close Thanks for liking this page. Tell us why by adding a comment at the bottom.
Photo: Oculus Slab by David Nash

Oculus Slab at Kew Gardens

Date and material

  • 2009
  • Eucalyptus
Photo: Oculus Slab being cut
Oculus Slab being cut (Photo by David Nash)

Making Oculus Slab

To achieve the verticality of Oculus Block (which is shown in the Gardens near Main Gate), Nash needed to cut off the top section of the wood, as it was not level. But he realised that if he gave this section some depth, it would become a work itself. 'It's a fabulous piece of wood and it cracks like crazy,' he says.

At 1,350kg, Oculus Slab is just a fraction of the gigantic Oculus Block, which weighs in at 10,000kg.

Making the cuts across the wood meant Nash's team had to make an extra-long chainsaw especially! It took two men to use it - one on each end.

Oculus: Latin for 'eye'

Oculus Slab is a cross-section - the hole in the middle of this piece runs vertically through the core of Oculus Block, between multiple trunks that have fused together.

No comments on 'Oculus Slab'

Garden attractions

Follow Kew

Keep up to date with events and news from Kew

Related Tags

  1. english garden
  2. innovative
  3. around the world
  4. adventurous
  5. successful
  6. irreplaceable
  7. ground breaking
  8. amazing
  9. beautiful
  10. creative
  11. imaginative
  12. inspiring
  13. exotic
  14. for kids
  15. fun
  16. popular
  17. interesting
  18. english heritage
  19. historical
  20. romantic
  21. ancient
  22. rare
  23. active
  24. discovered
  25. old
  26. unusual
  27. high
  28. challenging
  29. donate
  30. for friends
  31. gifts that help
  32. the UK
  33. treasures
  34. at risk
  35. endangered
  36. fragile
  37. sustainable
  38. useful
  39. brand new
  40. for plant lovers
  41. special interest
  42. powerful
  43. high up
  44. ornamental
  45. pretty
  46. Kew at home
  47. wet
  48. extraordinary
  49. hot
  50. garden plants
  51. wild
  52. flowering
  53. rare

Your Kew

We invite photographers to capture the sights at Kew and Wakehurst. These images are a selection of images submitted by photographers from around the world. We hope you enjoy them. You can see more on Flickr.

See your favourite reasons to visit