The Tarn wall hanging

"For three weeks each April, at altitude on the alpine moorlands of Cradle Mountain, the Fagus turns — gold and copper and the deep amber of old honey — and every person who witnesses it feels they have found something the rest of the country doesn't know about."

— Saint Moso, on The Tarn

Nothofagus gunnii — the Fagus, or deciduous beech — is Australia's only native deciduous tree. It grows only in the alpine regions of Tasmania, at elevations above 900 metres, in conditions that would defeat most other living things. For most of the year it is unremarkable: low, dense, a groundcover of the high moorland. Then April comes.

For approximately three weeks each autumn, the Fagus turns. It moves from green through gold to amber and then to a deep burnt copper, transforming the entire alpine landscape into something that looks borrowed from a New England fall or a Japanese maple garden — except that it is here, in the middle of the Southern Ocean, at altitude, in a wilderness that most Australians will never visit. This original photograph captures the Fagus at its absolute peak, reflected in the still, dark water of a Cradle Mountain tarn. The image is unrepeatable: this specific light, on this specific day, in this specific three-week window that comes once a year.

Printed with natural dyes on GOTS-certified organic hand-loomed flax linen, the warmth of the autumn palette — those golds and coppers and ambers — transfers to the fabric in a way that feels entirely right. The linen absorbs the colour rather than reflecting it. The image glows rather than simply shows.

Series: Etch'd — Original Tasmanian Wilderness

Image: The Tarn — Cradle Mountain alpine tarn during the Fagus turning, Cradle Mountain National Park, Tasmania

Dimensions: 70 cm wide × 90 cm tall

Material: GOTS-certified organic hand-loomed flax linen

Printing: Natural dyes — plant and mineral based

Designed: In Tasmania by Saint Moso

Hanging: Ready to hang — hardware included

Edition: Limited production run

Because this piece is printed on hand-loomed linen, slight natural variation in weave texture exists between individual pieces. This is inherent to the hand-loomed process and adds character to the finished piece rather than diminishing it. The image itself is consistent across the edition.