Sculptures inspired by fruits

Nash was inspired to make new sculptures in the Wood Quarry after visiting Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank in West Sussex. Here he discovered the many different shapes, sizes and colours of fruits and seeds.

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Sculptures inspired by fruits by David Nash

Date and material

2012
Silver birch and beech

Banksia fruits Photo by Wolfgang Stuppy

Banksia fruit

The work shown on the right of the above photo is made from beech and is influenced by the shape and form of a banksia fruit. Banksia fruits have follicles that open after being exposed to fire. Each follicle contains two seeds held back by a woody wedge stuck between them. The wedge falls out after the fruit is subjected to fire, perhaps as the dead branches sway in the wind, releasing the winged seeds.

Australian she-oak fruit Photo by David Nash

Australian she-oak fruit

The sculpture on the left-hand side of the photo is made from silver birch and is inspired by Australian she-oak fruits (Allocasuarina tesselata). She-oaks look a bit like conifers from a distance and also have cone-shaped fruits. But in fact they are relatives of the oaks and beeches that grow in the UK. Nash used the end of a chainsaw to insert the cuts on the sculpture then charred with an arrow-tip branding iron. The fruits are on display in Gallery 4 in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art.