Breathing With the Forest at Compton Verney
Yesterday I took myself out of the studio and off to Compton Verney to see some exhibitions that I had my eye on. It’s important to get out and inspired - out of my own head to explore and experience new art & ideas. The setting at Compton Verney is beautiful with gorgeous grounds designed by Capability Brown with a lake, rolling hills and woodlands to wander. The galleries are in the house which show changing exhibitions as well as their main collection. Below is a picture of the lake & main house with a bronze sculpture by Arika Verzutti which is part of their current ‘Sculpture in the Park’ showing.
The main reason for my visit this time was to see an immersive installation called ‘Breathing with the Forest’ and OMG, it did not disappoint! It is a video installation that recreates a real plot of the Amazonian forest focusing on the delicate interactions and relationships between the trees, root systems, energies etc within this beautiful ecosystem. You enter a darkened room and the video which fills the entirety of a large wall is playing & gently moving across the space. Accompanied by a sound track of pulsing rhythms of the rainforest it is designed that your breath synchronises with the life of the forest and that the viewer becomes part of the ecosystem.
Above is a short clip - be sure to turn on the sound! The piece is by Marshmallow Laser Feast which is an experiential artist collective who explore culture and create conversations about our relationship with the world through story telling and blurring the line between art, immersion and film. it’s just beautiful!
There were seats in front of it so you can stay a while and really tune in, which is exactly what I did. It got better the longer I stayed as I relaxed into the experience, in fact, I didn’t want to leave! The swirling dots that shimmer around the trees made me think of the winds carrying knowledge, fertility, seeds, spores. Also the breath and life of the ecosystem, working together, sharing and having a united existence on this earth. The roots are tinted red and blue evoking blood veins that are nourishing the earth and other organisms below. They pulsate with energy passed down, passed along and shared. It was a very powerful and emotional experience, augmented by the accompanying audio, you really get a sense that the trees are alive, breathing and communicating in a far more intelligent way than we can understand.
The weather was glorious and I was also able to enjoy the sculpture trail all around the grounds, sit and stare at the lake and wander amongst the trees in the woodland walk. ….and you can bet your life there was tea and biscuits!
The exhibition of ‘Breathing with the Forest’ finishes this Sunday 6th April so I recommend you get there if you can.