An immersive and interactive free exhibition inspired by the ancient trees and forests of County Durham has gone on display.
Bishop Oakland, an installation by North East visual artist Bethan Maddocks, is now on show at Bishop Auckland Town Hall’s gallery, which is run by Durham County Council.
Visitors can explore a forest full of paper tree trunks, unfurling foliage and coloured leaves which they can touch, listen, play with and add to.
The exhibition’s paper forest is inspired by the prehistoric ‘coal forests’ which created the coal seams beneath the region, and ‘Bishop’s Oak’ – a 400-year-old tree found in Wolsingham.
Visitors exploring the forest will find spotted trees and striped bark – patterns taken from fossil records of ancient tree relatives which grew in the area 250 million years ago. Looking up, they will find oak leaves, acorns, and rough oak bark representing the ancient native woodland of County Durham.
The exhibition is accompanied by a soundscape of original sound recordings of woodland across the North East. Visitors can also create their own foliage to take home or add to Bishop Oakland to help the exhibition grow and bloom over the summer.
Bishop Oakland was first developed at Woodhorn Museum in Northumberland for its Coal Forest season. It was selected for display at Bishop Auckland Town Hall’s gallery after winning the venue’s annual Open Call Exhibition last year.
Creator Bethan was born in Bishop Auckland and grew up in Wolsingham, spending her childhood exploring the wild spaces and great trees of County Durham with her family.
Bethan said: “Having grown up in Weardale I was really excited to win the Bishop Auckland Town Hall Gallery Open Call for Artists in 2020.
“Bishop Oakland celebrates the wilder places of County Durham and the forests that I played in as a child, particularly ‘Bishops Oak’, a 400-year-old tree tucked away in Baal Hill Woods in Wolsingham.
“I wanted to create an immersive, playful woodland that visitors could touch, explore and add to.
“Bishop Oakland was, in part, originally conceived for the ‘Coal Forest’ season at Woodhorn Museum in Ashington. It explored the ancient forests that created the coal which was so key to our area.
“For Bishop Oakland, I partnered these ancient paper trees with new giant oak trees, inspired by the woodland of County Durham, to tell both ancient and modern stories of our landscapes.”
Cllr Elizabeth Scott, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said: “Bishop Oakland is a wonderful interactive exhibition which draws on the rich heritage of County Durham.
“It provides an ideal day out for people of all ages and I’m sure those interested in the fascinating natural history of our area will be particularly keen to visit.”
Bishop Oakland will be on display until Saturday 27 August. The exhibition is free to view and is open Monday to Saturday, excluding bank holidays, from 10am to 4pm.
To find out more about the exhibition, as well as Bishop Auckland Town Hall’s upcoming programme of events, visit www.bishopaucklandtownhall.org.uk