Tate Britain revives artist-commissioned Christmas tree with Shirazeh Houshiary's upside-down pine

Tate Britain has reinstated its annual tradition of commissioning an artist to create a Christmas tree, a practice that began in 1988 but was paused in 2013 due to renovations. This year's tree is by Iranian-born artist Shirazeh Houshiary (b. 1955), who has created an upside-down pine suspended from the ceiling in the central gallery at Millbank, reminiscent of Luciano Fabro's 'Italy' sculpture. The work emphasizes the natural qualities of the pine—color, surface, smell, and form—through a gold leaf intervention wrapping the roots. Houshiary previously designed a similar tree for the same institution twenty years ago. Separately, British artist Alex Chinneck has installed a seven-meter-tall pine frozen in a two-ton resin block at King's Cross, near the Central Saint Martins campus. The illusionistic sculpture mimics melting ice with a wax puddle and is illuminated by 1,200 lights.