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Tach Pollard

Owlman Rising

Owlman Rising

$695.00 NZD
$695.00 NZD
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Artist Statement: The Albion Collective were born from the enchanted lands of old Albion. Each being has a magical relationship to one another having been born from the entangled roots that cover this sacred landscape. A small piece of Albion’s spirit is contained in each one. Each being is like a a reimagined Cunning Folk of old, shapeshifting across time and space. The collective come together in celebration of the magical enchantment that is Albion.

Hawthorn is native to many countries in Europe. It has woven itself into the folklore and mythology of many cultures through the ages. This small thorny tree is often known as a fairy tree in Ireland. In Wales it was a Hawthorn tree in which Merlin the magician was said to have embedded and sleeps to this day. The British Isles are full of old Myths about Dragons, mermaids, witches and Giants.

Holly Wood is found all over the England. It’s at its height in the darkest days of winter when most trees have given their leaves to the earth, Holly holds all its spikey leaves and magical blood red berries.

Boxwood is only found in ancient Boxwoods in small areas of the England. These woods are magical places where the boxwood trees have grown wild and dense across the earth usually snaking into one another. Under the canopy the intertwined trunks and branches have a sleeve of dense green moss covering, so it’s like entering an Emerald fairy forest as little else grows below the canopy.

The Albion Collective are each carved from several or one piece of sustainably sourced hawthorn, box or holly wood. Everyone was carved individually including any appendages such as feathers etc. After carving I then heat treat them usually by burning but some I cook. This stresses the timber to crack and also lets out any remaining moisture held in the wood. Some pieces are then left natural or rubbed black if burnt and treated with Rustins Danish Oil. The Golden pieces are guilded with gold leaf.

Dimensions: 200mm (h) x 120mm (w) x 50mm (d)

Year: 2025

Medium: Hawthorn Wood

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Tach Pollard

UK-based artist Tach Pollard transforms gnarled tree roots into fantasy creatures inspired by European folklore. His sleek sculptures tend to have spindly legs and long cloaks adding to their sense of mystery.

Tach began collecting tree roots when he was a child, but didn’t start carving them until later in life. He works mainly with oak and hawthorn roots:

“Hawthorn is a mystical tree with much folklore attached… for me it is a great honour to carve this gnarly wood. I love the whiteness of its colour, and the way it splits, cracks, shifts and moves when burnishing a carved piece.”

Many of his works are inspired by the form of the root itself, which often has a skeletal structure and lends itself to the long limbs featured in his work.