‘Who Will Provide’ Exhibition at The Crypt Gallery
31/10 – 4/11 2018
Our group of thirty three MFA students explored and responded to themes relating to charity and its place in today’s world. The exhibition presented a collection of site specific works, ranging from painting to sculpture, assemblage to video through to performance and photography.
Before the summer break preparations started by putting together various teams to properly organise and execute the event. The members of the research team responded to the site by looking into its history, connecting it to its past and designed the theme ’Who Will Provide?’ around the wish list, a document from 1995 which outlined the desired purpose for the building. This included shelter and provision for the homeless, serving the nearby student population and a focal point for community activities.
I volunteered to join the Installation Team. Over the summer I visited the crypt twice with the view to inform myself about the site (wall space, wall and ceiling heights, location of electrical outlets etc.) and to explore a potential location for my own work.
Two weeks prior to the event the curating team got in touch and supplied our team with a list of required tools and materials. We also received technical information on some more complicated works and installing requirements from The Crypt Gallery itself (No drilling of new holes!). There was very good collaboration between curating and installation team and minor installation problems were efficiently dealt with.
SKILLS: HANDLING ARTWORK, COLLABORATION, PROBLEM SOLVING, ATTENTION TO DETAIL,
SITE SPECIFIC WORKING
The Hidden Life of Trees - Peter Wohlleben
What They Feel, How They Communicate:Discoveries from a Secret World
Having grown up for a large part of my life in Austria, I have spent many days and long periods in close proximity to forests and woodland.
To walk through it, with the sound and movement and visual delight of the various species and sizes of the trees, it always had a positive effect on my wellbeing.
Forests feature in fairy tales, there are mystical tales of talking ,walking trees and there are many customs and rituals related to trees.
In summer 2017, preceding the start of the MA course, I began to deepen my research into the subject of the tree.
I came across Wohlleben’s book which opened a whole new world for me.
Peter Wohlleben , a forester, makes a case in his book for a reimagination, re-evaluation of trees which are generally only looked at as generators of oxygen and wood. He describes a vivid picture about a fascinating world, above and under the forest floor. Presenting scientific research and writing in anthropomorphic terms ( criticized by scientists and biologists for being too ‘emotional’) he reveals the highly communicative social network of trees. He wants us to recognize our relationship with them so that we’ll be encouraged to preserve their ecosystem more urgently.
Trees ‘speak to one another, for example, through scent, as African acacia trees do when giraffes feed of them.
I have watched myself that after a while of grazing the animal moves away from the tree and searches for another tree close by. But even this one seems unsuitable and the giraffe moves on, even further away. It appears that the acacia tree produces bitter toxin in its leaves to avoid being overgrazed and alerts other trees nearby of ‘the danger’.
Trees also communicate through a vast fungal network around their roots which transmits electrical signals and chemical compounds. Through this‘Wood Wide Web’ forests are interconnected , operating less like individuals but more as communal beings. Working together in networks and sharing resources, they increase their resistance to harmful impacts . Wohlleben also demonstrates how centuries of forestry have harmed trees, especially the practice of thinning out trees, which keeps them from establishing necessary underground connectedness.
This well written book, full also of personal anectodes, is very engaging and wants to inspire us to take a walk in the woods, armed with new knowledge and new perception.
