Forest Spots – forest spaces – Idea
FOCUS: FOREST, „FOREST SPOTS“
“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.”
? Anatole France
WHAT?
„Forest Spots“, walk-in installations created in different forests around the world;
inspired by „Sky Spaces“ by James Turrell
HOW?
with ecological material of the surrounding in the forest, asking people living there for their skills and experiences with the plants, trees and animals of the forest to build a walk-in installation for all
WHY?
to stop, to rest, to observe the forest´s beauty of change, enjoying the space to listen to the sounds of the forest, to observe its colours, to inhale its smell and to feel the variety of structures it offers and to calm down our monkey mind to recharge our batteries and maybe to get inspired to protect and care for the forest, to develop conciousness for the forest
The visitors are invited to observe the forests beauty with all their senses and create something to add to the installation, so the installation itself may be in constant change aswell, like a mirror of the forest.
Intention – artist statement
„As long as I can remember the forest and walking through the forests of my home country Austria, for me it always offered an opportunity to calm down, to recharge, to get balanced again. As a child I thought of old trees being invincible beings. I continued walking through the forests at places I visited in Europe, in Southamerica, in India and Nepal observing the variety of beauty where ever I went, always finding some comfort and trust.
Climate change wasn´t visible for me in the forest for a long time, but that changed a few years ago. Last summer I walked through fields of uprooted trees, destroyed plants and dry meadows. As long as I live I have never seen this face of the forest, weak and destroyed. It touched me very profoundly. That moment showed me that I need to work artistically on this topic. Later on I got introduced to the work of the artist James Turrell and I had the chance to visit different sky spaces in different countries. I loved Turrell´s idea to create spaces where people can look at the sky and to calm down without following any religious context, so open the doors to visit for everyone. That inspired me to create installations where people can observe the beauty of the forest over the side-way of art.“ Vrovro Geiger, March 2024
Philosophy behind
Nothing stays the same; everything is temporary, enjoy the beauty surrounding us as long as we are able to; find comfort in nature, where change is visual, observable. We human beings need to change radically to protect our environment and appreciate it as the solid ground of our own well-being and to realize that we are part of nature.
Spaces to observe and to exchange
Art offers spaces to gather beauty, to meet others and exchange views. We are all part of the culture we live in and everyone has skills to leave an impact, we choose which one.
„Talking about problems is the first step to change, to improve and to find solutions“
PROCESS
Research
- Talking to people
- making pictures
- reading books
- observing the forest
- research structures
- research building methods
Searching spots for the installation
- Kunst in der Natur, Wachtberg, AUSTRIA
- Hofkollektiv Weltenende, Burgenland, AUSTRIA
- Naturpark Meloner Au, AUSTRIA
- GRECE
- SWEDEN
- BRASIL
building the installation (as a workshop)
- collecting material
- creating the installation
site-specific research for the performance (artist alone, parts can be organized as workshops)
- using the spot to observe the forest
- recording sounds
- writing poetry
- creating and rehearsing the performance
art performance at the place
Using performance to share stories about our connection to the forest
Reclaiming rituals as a way to increase awareness for nature without following any religion or ideology, focusing on the nature within