ACKROYD & HARVEY
2023
Artist signed hand-drawn study in gall ink 
21cm x 15cm
Unique
 
From the crop of acorns collected from the trees in autumn 2023, we made a series of gall ink studies of the emerging radicle ~ the embryonic root of the plant that emerges during the process of germination. Oaks are the host plants for more than 70 species of cynipid gall wasp. It is the larval stage of these insects that induce the plant to produce abnormal growths, known as galls that enclose the developing larvae. These galls are part of the biodiversity a healthy oak tree supports. Once the gall wasps have emerged, the galls can be collected and crushed to produce ink.