Perpetuity is an outdoor 1970 sculpture by Alexander von Svoboda, located in Portland, Oregon.
It consists of a bronze "seedling" inside a hollowed-out cross section of a 350 feet (110 m), Giant Sequoia tree.
[1][2] The seedling is suspended by bronze shafts that pierce the wood and extend several feet beyond, creating a "sunburst" effect.
[2] Smithsonian offers the following remark by Svoboda: "This is perpetual, the beginning and end of life, or to say it another way, there is no end and no beginning..."[1] The sculpture was surveyed and considered "treatment urgent" by Smithsonian's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!"
[1] By then, the sculpture was owned by the World Forestry Center and installed in front of its Merlo Hall, having been donated by Standard Insurance Company.