Art installation in Leeds is to remind us of our past and the need for a sustainable future - Michael Pinsky

For the last century, wood has been overlooked as a building material, despite witnessing medieval structures adorned with wooden beams dating back hundreds of years. For ‘Making A Stand’ we have used Douglas Fir, a type of tree grown in the UK and now increasingly used in the built environment as a low carbon alternative to steel or concrete.

By using this material and ‘borrowing’ the wood from the supply chain with the intent that it can be repurposed when the project is dismantled at the end of the year, we hope to promote conversations surrounding material life cycles.

The second interpretation relates to the technical construction of ‘Making A Stand’. In a woodyard, wood is typically felled and cut into fins, then stacked horizontally with small spacers in between to facilitate drying, a crucial process for ensuring the stability of the wood for construction purposes. However, for ‘Making a Stand’, we are ‘standing’ the wood vertically. Erecting a seven metre tall rough-cut wooden 'fin' in a public space, exposed to the elements, presents a considerable challenge.

The engineering design aimed at achieving stability while being elegant has been a bold undertaking. We have chosen to make the supporting structure visible, allowing us to appreciate every construction element. It also means there is minimal damage to the ‘borrowed’ wood, so that once the project is dismantled at the end of year, these fins can be repurposed back into the supply chain.

Many governments continue to disregard the climate crisis. Despite a few positive developments, the reality is that we are drifting further away from the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. Over the past decade, the removal of environmental subsidies has hindered the advancement of renewable energy sources and the insulation of our homes. Cars are growing larger, train fares are becoming more expensive, and aviation fuel remains untaxed. In this context, those who care about our planet are taking to the streets to make their voices heard. However, with new legislation giving powers to the police to restrict even peaceful protests, only the most courageous among us are willing to take a stand. In this light, these 'tree' structures serve as a testament to protest; a quietly powerful disruption to the daily movement within the square.

Making a Stand reaches to the past to critique today’s social political indifference towards the climate crisis and reminds us that we have been able to live symbiotically with nature for centuries – this city is even named after the ancient Forest of Leodis upon which it is built. We can do this again, as long as we channel our remarkable technical ingenuity towards an ecologically focused future.

Michael Pinsky is an artist who co-created Making A Stand.