Root and Branch





The intriguing Family Tree was admired by visitors over the summer and as I gave lectures locally I met descendants of the Chippendale family. What inspired you to respond in this way to Chippendale’s story?
It was important to link the imagery within the Gardens to the House so that visitors to the Courtyard Café would be encouraged to enter Harewood House itself as well as visiting the Gardens. With Family Tree I wanted to create an outdoor installation that would not only be visually powerful enough to be noticeable within the stunning Stables Courtyard but would also inspire people to know more about the man himself. This commission gave me an opportunity to connect with Chippendale, his family and his craft by imagining Thomas Chippendale, inspired by his love of wood, dreaming of his own family tree.
Siting Family Tree in the centre of the Courtyard was a perfect setting as it meant that visitors would not only be able to view it by walking around the Installation but also sit with the bed/tree in their midst whilst drinking their teas and coffees enabling it to became a natural and accepted part of their environment. The tree -constructed from individual pieces of oak to my design- burst through the wire mattress base of the bespoke 4 poster bed and embedded in the tree trunk, branches and within the mattress wire base were small engraved brass plaques with all the names of his known family therefore creating a 3 dimensional Chippendale family tree. It was fascinating in my research to discover that he not only had two wives and so many children but that by looking at the names and dates on the plaques, a picture of a real man not just a fabled Master Craftsman began to emerge, with the losses, heartbreaks and history that every family has contained within the engravings.
What for you was the highlight of your work at Harewood?
The moment when I walked alone to view both installations when they were finally in place and those initial ideas and scribbles from months before became a reality. Root and Branch in particular was challenging to install. My team carefully manoeuvred the sculpture through the doorways of the House, for as the chair was already positioned in the branch, it could not be separated and its angle meant the width of the sculpture caused major difficulties but my team were so skilful it all went seamlessly.
Watching the tree of Family Tree being hoisted by crane up and over the beautifully constructed bed so it would be placed accurately onto the waiting plate that would hold it safely in position; was an amazing sight and always in this type of work, the skills and patience of my creative team are always a highlight as I could never achieve my ideas without them.
Family Tree






The commissioning process is always fascinating. Can you tell us something about how you worked with the team at Harewood?
The support from the team at Harewood was amazing. It felt like a true collaboration as they always made sure that I felt that the commission was very much part of the fabric of the House and Gardens and that it was an integral part of the Chippendale celebrations. It was obvious to me at the outset that the team at Harewood had such respect for Chippendale and I valued so much all the assistance in making sure I had enough support and information from Harewood for my research.
With thanks
With special thanks to Christie’s for their sponsorship of the Chippendale 300 blog series.