The Voice of (Tree) Reason

This film was part of a larger collaborative project System Change Hive of artists, academic researchers, communicators, and immersive technology experts to explore other ways to communicate system change. Our discussions and radical dreaming resulted in an exhibition at ONCA Gallery, Brighton and the exhibition is on tour this year throughout 2020. Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a tree? A humorous and poignant film from the perspective of trees. How might trees view our current society and system? I am moved by the interconnected system embodied by trees through their roots and mycelium network; a supportive system of exchange and communication that contributes to keeping the balance that preserves our planet. Scientists now know that trees how trees connect and interact with each other and absorb CO2, converting it into oxygen for humans to breathe. Trees are not competitive, coexisting ‘nutrient exchange and helping neighbours in times of need’ (The Hidden Life of Trees, author Peter Wohlleben, January 2016). I became interested in how we could compare this with our own society of work ethics, care and social structures, we can reflect on our own current systems. My work looks at these issues through the ‘voices’ - so to speak - of an Elder Tree, a Working Tree, a Tree Stump and a Young Tree. Deforestation and upturning Indigenous communities has been the result of logging, industrial agriculture and farming for mass consumption, meeting excessive demand for products such as cheap beef, soya and palm oil. In particular, countries like Brazil, Bolivia and Peru in the Global South have seen mass deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. One of the main contributing factors towards Climate Emergency, because of the vast amount of CO2 produced from these processes. With less trees to absorb carbon emissions, then the greenhouse effect will increase. Part of my journey of coming to terms with the full scale of the changes that need to be made to remedy this crisis has been the acknowledgment of feelings like guilt, shame, anger and helplessness. In the face of this information, many of us struggle not to shut down. But I found hope and empowerment in gaining knowledge and understanding about the systemic changes that need to shift and hope to spread this. I wanted to address these feelings in modern society, connecting on a level that is humorous and silly to help digest the issue of Climate Emergency. Want to know more about our project System Change Hive? Check out the website: https://systemchangehive.org