Exhibition inspired by local tree opens at Salford Art Gallery

A new exhibition of artworks are now on display at Salford Museum and Art Gallery. The exhibition, Memory Keepers by Yang Wan Preston, is inspired by a local chestnut tree at RHS Garden Bridgwater. The tree is 300 years old, making it the site's oldest.

The exhibition consists of several photographs of the tree, as well as 300 stories all written by members of the public, paying tribute to the tree's lifespan.

The project came about as a result of a collaboration between the University of Salford, RHS Garden Bridgwater and Open Eye Gallery. The project began in November 2024, when Yan was appointed the first ever artist in residence at the garden. The tree was one of her first discoveries upon visiting the garden, and instantly, it won her affections.

She said: "When you sit under a big tree, you start looking around, you look up, you look down, you pick up leaves, you touch things.

"A tree is a world. Are they silently witnesses of the world, or are they actively shaping it?"

Lindsay Taylor is the Director of the University of Salford Art Collection, and has worked closely with both RHS Bridgwater and Open Eye Gallery from the start to help this project happen. She said: "We are so lucky to have RHS Bridgwater in our city and to be able to work with both the staff and the site.

"This exhibition celebrates one indvidual tree. But it also celebrates people and creativity. Yan has been inspired to push the boundaries of photography and her own practice.

"Photography has been a catalyst for young people to look, talk, make things and spend time together, and people from all over the world have imagined what the tree might have experienced over its lifetime. It is a fitting conclusion to this exciting collaboration."

Memory Keepers is part of a project called OFFSHOOT, the overall collaboration between the University of Salford, RHS Bridgwater andd Open Eye Gallery. More of Yan's photographs can be seen by the public at RHS Bridgwater itself, as well as at the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool.

Memory Keepers remains open at the Salford Museum and Art Gallery until the 28th February 2027, and entry is completely free.