Arnolfini launch a brand-new forest inspired exhibition

Arnolfini launch a brand-new forest inspired exhibition

Posted on: 08 Jul 2022

Entitled ‘Forest: Wake this Ground’, this major exhibition brings together creatives from all over the world to celebrate what lies above and below the forest’s floor.

 

The show begins tomorrow (Saturday 9 July) and will run until Sunday 2 October.

 

This group exhibition will bring together multi-disciplinary artists, writers, filmmakers and composers from across the globe to present a range of works that recycle, reuse and repurpose resources.

 

‘Forest: Wake this Ground' is free to visit.

 

 

Through the pieces created using these reused materials, the artists will be examining and discovering the forests’ ancient rhythms as well as exploring myths and folk tales retold over centuries of storytelling.

 

‘Wake the Ground’ is a line taken from Zakiya McKenzie (pictured below) and Khady Gueye's 2021 collaborative poem, Soil Unsoiled. The piece was commissioned by the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trust and reflects on racial inequality in society and the lived experience of Gueye as a resident of the Forest of Dean.

 

Creatives involved in the exhibition include Chilean multiform artist Rodrigo Arteaga, visual artist Mark Garry, multidisciplinary artist Alma Heikkilä, Palestinian sculptor/filmmaker Jumana Manna and local writer Mckenzie.

Also involved are artist Rosa Nguyen, experimental filmmaker Ben Rivers, activist and artist Ai Weiwei and Canadian composer Hildegard Westerkam as well as sculptors David Nash, Maria Nepomuceno, Eva Jospin and John Newling.

 

Alongside the exhibition, the Arnolfini will be running a programme that includes live performance, film, family events and creative workshops where attendees will be invited to share and create their own forest tales with the aim of encouraging us all to explore the impact of the climate crisis on the natural world.

 

The final weekend of ‘Forest: Wake this Ground’ sees the longest ever performance of Sam Williams and Roly Porter’s ‘Salvage Rhythms’ (pictured below) at the Arnolfini. This ongoing work uses live performance, noise, film, and collage to take a look at what we can learn about other critters, organisms and intelligences around the world.

‘Forest: Wake this Ground’ runs from Saturday 9 July until Sunday 2 October, with ‘Salvage Rhythms’ taking place on Saturday 1 October. Both are free to attend and the gallery welcomes walk-ins, although exhibition slots can be booked in advance.

 

To find out more about what’s coming up at Arnolfini, head to the gallery’s website.

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Article by:

Stanley Gray

Stan is a born and bred Bristolian, recently graduated from studying English Literature in Sheffield. His passions are music and literature and he spends the majority of his time in venues all over the city, immersing himself in Bristol’s alternative music scene. A lifelong Bristol City fan, Stan’s Saturdays are spent watching his team both home and away.