A defining image of MIF09, Gustav Metzger’s poignant installation Flailing Trees stood between Manchester Peace Garden and the Town Hall. A protest against the increasing brutalisation of the natural world, the work featured 21 inverted willows with flourishing branches replaced by dying roots, a subversion of the natural order that brings nature and the environment into sharp focus. Flailing Trees is now part of the Whitworth’s permanent collection.

‘Flailing Trees speaks with stentorian authority about a world turned on its head and the violence humanity inflicts upon nature’ Artinfo

Commissioned by Manchester International Festival. Produced by Manchester International Festival and CUBE.