The Jealous Wall
Patrick Dougherty, 2022 (Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
Quebec willow branches
“My intention was to create a wall, a maelstrom of saplings which would seem to overtake these manmade structures and give the illusion of flowing through doors and out windows, cascading over roofs in one unstoppable moment.”
– Patrick Dougherty
This piece blends Dougherty’s signature waves and whorls of stickwork with three small structures purpose-built on the site. The willow elements mimic, play with and innovate around the traditional walls and shapes of the buildings. The work both engulfs and unsettles the everyday forms of the sheds and houses.
Encountering the piece in the deep woods of Alnoba, it speaks to the patience and power of nature to outlast us all.