"All things are connected. We are not separate from the elements that govern nature. The Forests are the lungs of the planet. As they burn or as they are cut we too will suffer."
Audience With A Tree is a site specific projection-based immersive installation that brings the vast essence of the Sequoia and California Redwoods into direct connection with individuals in dense urban ecosystems. Climate realities are daunting, leaving people feeling hopeless, helpless and conflicted around agendas and resources. The majority of the public are not aware that our natural land is bring bought and sold to the highest bidder at the expense of our convenience and survival. These actions, along with daily consumption habits, impact our forest ecosystems and its inhabitants globally.
I am calling forth an "Audience With A Tree" -- an opportunity to inspire hope and bring together different points of view around the idea of climate change and environmental issues. I do this by opening a sacred and welcoming space to encourage the public to reconnect with the "Voice Of The Forest" and listen deeply for answers.
I am inspiring reverence through the curation of an interactive projection-based experience that brings the vast essence of the spirit of our great old growth forests to the public. Through the idea of anthropomorphism and a guided meditation-style conversation with the "Mother Tree," individuals connect with and have a shift in heart and perspective.
This multimedia experience – created in collaboration with Set Designer, Umberto Freddi – combines towering projections of the Sequoia & Redwood old growth forests, both before and after devastating fires; an alter for trees, a space of reverence and reflection on which I've placed relics of trees past; actual images of the great Cayuse of BC, Canada the 1200-1600 year-old cedars before and after clear-cutting trees fell during the Fairy-Creek conflict in 2020-2023; as well as relics and mementos for global old-growth forests from Romania, the Amazon and Africa. Outside the exhibition, leading to the install site, I create large life-sized 10 meter stump prints using red chalk to represent "bloody stumps" as an homage to our great Sequoias ravaged by fires and floods as well as clear-cut Redwoods. These also represent the forests felled for concrete cities to replace them.
These spaces offer a refuge from the urban environments where visitors can experience the forest at-scale. Visitors are invited to recline in furnished bean-bag chairs and gaze upon the canopy towering above while listening to a guided meditation from the "Voice Of The Forest" (available in German, English & Italian), concluding with an invitation to sit at the alter and offer a word, memento, or moment of silence.
