Forest

Installed in an old train at Ceres Environment Park, Brunswick, Melbourne in 2013.

Sound design by Glen Walton.

A cane nest was first woven through the roof and walls of the Train.

Layered drops of different textured and weighted papers were installed ,creating a paper forest. Small nests woven form rope were then layered through this. Sound was then added.

What happens if the strands of self are woven around a dream ….and the dream dies?

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in your soul….. (Emily Dickenson)

Forest is an exploration into fragility, the strength and beauty in the fragile and the fragility of the human spirit.

 Nests have been woven from rope found on the various journeys I have taken. Each nest has its own story stemming from the place the rope was found and the shape it wanted to make. For example, ‘Tsunami’ has been woven from a piece of rope I found when in Japan with Polyglot Theatre at Minima Sanruki, and ‘Towts Road’ from wire left after a tyre was burnt in the Black Saturday fires. Not all the nests have such potent stories as these, but they all hold a story of a journey, an experience and a transformation. When hung with the paper drops they create a delicate world layered with stories. The nests are empty, but they resonate with memory and story.

The installation is embed in an old train, itself resonating with memories of journeys taken and filled with stories of passengers past.

Thank you
Glen Walton for the soundscape
Polyglot for the speakers
Richard Vabre for tweaking the lights and lending me stuff

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“Took me to another world, loved seeing the birds through the window…”

“I love it…like a wondrous magical world – new vistas reveal themselves. A fest for the eyes and ears”

“Amazing concept of weaving”

“The atmosphere creates a complex awareness of sub conscious thoughts. Nice work.”

“We loved this! all the nests were like jellyfish in a kelp forest”

“Wondrous! The creaking floor reminded me of gums creaking in the wind. I wondered if I would find eggs or birds. Feels of the sky, sea and forest.”