PRODUCTION SPRING 1-References
-a series of interventions, collaborations and events based at the Awbury Arboretum, Philadelphia. September 2021.
Abstract:
Drawn from recurrent themes, kindered projects and chance encounters had during S(tree)twork’s Wander, Intra- Galactic Forest turns to the transformative power of sound to attend to the dense interrelations a forest can present.
Through hands-on workshops, we slow down the pace of inquiry and allow for the emergence of the unknown, the unheard, the invisible and the hidden. By tuning into different ways of knowing, we ask what modes of coexistence can be amplified and what tools we should use to transmit our findings.
Intra-Galactic Forest brings together local musicians, sound artists, woodworkers, print-makers and writers together with new participants and visitors to the Awbury Arboretum. Each workshop considers various dimensions of trees; electromagnetic, social, biologic, geologic, and astrophysical.
Thoughts/Key takeaways:
- connecting the events to one grand finale at the end
- collaboration between artist, musicians, woodworkers, printmakers, writers & participants/visitors to the Awbury Arboretum
- dimensions of trees (electromagnetic, social, biologic, geologic, astrophysical= all are perspectives).
- seafaring voyage moving people, ideas and seeds through time and space.
Abstract (specific to seeds):
The particular seeds being taken on Seed Journey have been “rescued” from various locations in the Northern Hemisphere – from the very formal (seeds saved during the Siege of Leningrad from the Vavilov Institute Seed Bank) to the informal (experimental archaeologists discovering Finnish Rye between two wooden boards in an abandoned Rihii in Hamar, Norway).
Once “weeds” these grains have been domesticated over tens’s of thousands of years by humans– cultivated by hand and exchanged through a complex hand- to hand network. Seed Journey collects ancient grains and stories along their route from farmers, bakers and seed savers. Each grain is inventoried and sealed into an hourglass that lives inside of a small wooden sailboat on board.
We can speak of this voyage as return or a re-tracing of a very ancient route combining human and non-human initiative by which wheat was domesticated from the wild and then slowly made its way through gifts, trade, winds, and sea currents, from the highly cultured Middle East to the barbarians of the north.”
https://www.thelongtimeproject.org/
The Long Time Project is focused on finding new ways to help us care about the long-term future, so that we take responsibility for it in the short-term.
It aims to galvanise public imagination and collective action to help us all be good ancestors.
Art and culture will be crucial to cultivating long-term attitudes and behaviours. They are foundational in shaping our collective direction of travel, from the kinds of laws we make, to the technology we develop, to the way we think about our role in shaping the future.
The Long Time Project has been co-founded by Ella Saltmarshe and Beatrice Pembroke. It is a multidisciplinary inquiry into cultivating cultures of stewardship at scale, involving policymakers, cultural institutions, scientists, humanities, the creative industries, media and business.
Created by the artist Thierry Boutonnier, ‘Verge de rue’ (Street Orchard) is an artistic and co-creative project of urban ecology and arboriculture that allows residents of Geneva, with the help of scientists and professionals, to participate in the design, creation, and maintenance of street orchards according to their desires and the specificities of the neighborhood. Participants are brought together to exchange know-how, experiences, and methodologies through dialogue and workshops, thus promoting cultural and generational integration and paving the way for a form of supportive eco-design.
The orchards will not only be a source of free and accessible food, but they will also combine classic arboricultural forms with structures inspired by street sports activities, such as trees supporting a soccer cage, basketball hoops hanging from tree poles, etc. These structures will go beyond traditional performance-focused machinery, while the tree supports will adapt to their growth and vulnerabilities, emphasizing inclusivity and "robustness," a sense of resilience, strength, and adaptability.
Street Orchard creates new visual dynamics and re-enchants the relationship with urban space. Working with woody plants (trees, shrubs, etc.) involves long-term commitment (3 to 5 years). The plant time goes hand in hand with the time of relationships between its guardians and the artist, the months required for their integration into the project and the appropriation of it.
http://www.domestication.eu/realisation/verger-de-rue/
https://exhibition.cofutures.org/about/
UNDERGROWTH - SCOTT HUNTER & JOANNE MATTHEWS (part of the FUTURE FORESTS project, Collins&Gotto)
Conceptual artist Joanne Matthews' accompanying sound recording (from inside a bog) increases in volume as the light fades, emphasising underground networks and mycorrhizal activity. Designed for cinematic viewing; the piece was adapted for Tent Gallery within a bespoke minimal installation, offering an antidote to the fast-paced outside environment of West Port where the gallery is situated.
https://www.jojomatthews.art/undergrowth
https://cargocollective.com/scotthunter/Undergrowth-with-Joanne-Matthews
https://soundcloud.com/jojo-matthews-art/undergrowth?utm_source=clipboard&utm_campaign=wtshare&utm_medium=widget&utm_content=https%253A%252F%252Fsoundcloud.com%252Fjojo-matthews-art%252Fundergrowth
FOREST CALLING - A NEVER-ENDING CONTAMINATED COLLABORATION OR DANCING IS A FORM OF FOREST KNOWLEDGE - Malin Arnell & Åsa Elzén
AS PART OF THE EIGHT DEGREES/CONTEMPORARY ART ON THE FOREST SHOW IN BILDMUSEET
https://www.bildmuseet.umu.se/en/exhibitions/2024/eight-degrees--contemporary-art-on-the-forest/
https://www.asaelzen.com/home/Forest_Calling_Extension_2.html