Donald & Era Farnsworth
Sacred Pine (tapestry), 2011
Jacquard tapestry
72.5 x 54 in.
edition of 12

“The crisis in Japan is far from over; it may be gone from the headlines, but it is not gone from our hearts.” -Donald & Era Farnsworth

Sacred Pine depicts a pine tree in Rikuzentakata, Japan, a coastal city almost completely flattened by the tsunami following the 2011 Touhoku earthquake. Incredibly, this single pine was left standing from a grove of more than 70,000 trees planted along the shore three centuries ago; the tree has emerged as a symbol of hope and renewal in an otherwise devastated region.