Why Trees?
Trees are the largest most dominant natural, aesthetic element in the world. They are essential to human life; since ancient times, they have had both utilitarian and intrinsic value. Climate change research reveals that trees have an almost instantaneous response to carbon dioxide emissions, challenging our perception of them as slow moving life forms.
We are seeking to elucidate cross species (tree - human) empathy and inter-relationship by revealing reactions to shared environmental conditions. Trees are alive, yet perceived as non-reactive entities operating within a time scale at the edge of human perception. Humanity affects our shared environment through industry, transport and development, yet we have little sensitivity to that effect.
The hypothesis that informs this work is that proximity and day to day intimacy create an awareness that Tim has previously explored (after Eaton and Nassauer) as an ‘aesthetic of health’. We are attempting to create and enable an empathic link with another species that shares our everyday context, actively reacting to a changing world The research, in both its technical and poetic forms, is focused upon attending to and elucidating reactions to shared atmospheric chemistry and related phenomenon.
