"Unity 1" 2024

Unity 1 (2024) is a one-of-a-kind sculptural work by New Zealand artist John Allen — the first piece in the Unity series, and the work from which the series takes its name and its meaning. Handcrafted from pōhutukawa root salvaged from a fallen tree at Beachlands, this sculpture begins with an act of revelation: the root is cut lengthwise, split open to expose its interior, sanded smooth, and then reassembled — the two mirror-image halves placed side by side, turned to face each other, as if in embrace.

The technique is inseparable from the idea. Unity, as John Allen understands it, is not something imposed from outside. It is something arrived at from within — through the willingness to open oneself, to do the inner work, to release what no longer serves, to accept what is. It is in that process of self-exposure and self-knowing, of individuation, that the paradoxical deeper realisation emerges: that we are not separate at all. That beneath the surface of individual experience, we are in unity with everyone and everything.

The two halves of this root were always one. Separated, sanded, and brought back together, they now face each other in quiet recognition — a physical form that enacts the very philosophy it embodies. Set on a schist stone base, the composition is grounded in the deep geological character of New Zealand itself.

Finished with natural oil and wax, the interior grain of the pōhutukawa is fully revealed — the hidden made visible, the inner brought to light.

Unity 1 is an original artwork of rare depth — a profound and considered gift for someone on a meaningful path.

Specifications:

• Title: Unity 1 (2024)
• Artist: John Allen
• Materials: Pōhutukawa root (Beachlands), schist stone base
• Finish: Oil and wax
• Dimensions: 760 × 400 × 330 mm
• Care: Indoor display recommended