Seattle artist John Fleming installed Memory Tree at the Thornton Creek Confluence, along the Northwest corner of 35th Street and 110th Street. Fleming was commissioned to work with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) and its consultants to create a new permanent, site-specific artwork that highlights the project to reduce flooding on Thornton Creek and Meadowbrook Pond, which will restore water quality and improve fish and wildlife habitat. The changes that SPU is making near Meadowbrook Pond will help improve the quality of water, support the fish and wildlife community, and reduce flooding.
Fleming took inspiration from a Japanese maple tree that used to exist on this property. The project has removed the original maple tree from the current Confluence site, but Fleming preserved its memory with the artwork Memory Tree. Fleming took the original tree’s branches and collected, bundled and encapsulated them into a 15 foot steel sculpture. The form and size roughly matches the shape of the original Japanese maple tree.
This project is funded by Seattle Public Utilities 1% for Art funds.
Photo by Kelly Pajek.
