How does the forest listen? What will the forest sound like, look like, in 100 years time?

ARTIST: MERINDA DAVIES
PROJECT: CONVERSATIONS WITH THE FOREST
PROJECT PARTNERS: URBAN ART PROJECTS, CAVILL LANE, THE 4217, REGIONAL ARTS DEVELOPMENT FUND GOLD COAST, CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS AUSTRALIA
DOCUMENTATION: MERINDA DAVIES, ELLAMAY FITZGERALD

Conversations with the Forest invites us to help grow a micro-forest in Surfers Paradise on Kombumerri land where a littoral rainforest once stood. Using plant species native to the region, the forest is imagined as a ‘paradise’ that people can enjoy in Surfers Paradise.

Encompassing a long-term community engagement onsite and collaborations with ferns, fungi and trees, Conversations with the Forest aims to build and nourish a network that supports new growth in the form of a fledgling forest and permanent public artwork. Committed participants known as Forest Agents are invited to work with the artistic team to help grow the forest on the ground or in the digital realm.

Research and development has encompassed panel discussion, listening to plants, walking tours of Surfers Paradise and handmade papermaking workshops, prompting us to participate in the growth of the project and to think about how we regard and communicate with forests and trees, and to consider a future where plants are our equals.