Whispering Forest

Whispering Forest, 2023

Curated by Farah Piriye Coene

Elnara Nasirli’s Whispering Forest brings a reclaimed Italian olive tree to life, inviting visitors to listen to its ancient story, where organic life and digital technology intertwine. Through sound technology, the tree’s subtle electrical signals are captured, translated into MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) data, and mapped to musical notes, creating a melody composed by the tree itself, echoing the resilience and cycles of Mediterranean landscapes. Only in a gesture of embrace can visitors hear these rhythmic sounds, revealing nature’s hidden language.

Using wires to mirror mycelium—the intricate underground web that connects microorganisms with larger ecosystems—the installation highlights the unseen networks that sustain life. In Venice, a city grappling with ecological challenges, Whispering Forest reflects the fragile interdependence of all living systems, showing how the smallest unseen elements support the visible world above.

This Italian olive tree joins Whispering Forest’s archive of interconnected, shared voices, uniting with Georgian, Azerbaijani, and Latvian trees shown in past iterations. Nasirli’s work is a call for awareness and action towards reforestation, urging us to recognize the resilience of nature’s hidden systems and our own role in preserving them. What can we learn from the wisdom of trees, and their silent, enduring connections? 

Instructions: Gently wave your hand over the sensor and lean in, placing your ear close to the tree to hear its whispered song.

Olive tree from Lecce, Italy
Plant-derived sound from Olea Europaea