Heavy trees, arms and legs

Developed following The Physics Room exhibition Heavy trees, arms and legs: Nicola Farquhar and Sorawit Songsataya at the Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū in April 2021, this book contains contributions from Abby Cunnane, Nicola Farquhar, Gregory Kan, Sorawit Songsataya and Rebecca Tamás.

‘Heavy trees, arms and legs’ is a line from Rebecca Tamás’ poem Palermo. The weight of limbs—branches, bones, roots, tendons—was a foundational reference in this exhibition of new works by Nicola Farquhar and Sorawit Songsataya: the idea of gravity as a compositional force that shapes us as living bodies, and connects us with elements in the natural world. The publication is intended as a way to continue a dialogue after the exhibition, and includes new page works by Songsataya, a series of texts by Farquhar, essays by Kan and Cunnane, and Tamás' poem from which the project as a whole borrows its name.