The Amazon rainforest covers 6.7 million square kilometres. It spans eight countries and one overseas territory in South America, representing an area twice the size of India. The region is thought to be home to 10% of known species on Earth and, incredibly, a new species of plant or animal is discovered there every other day. These creatures make their homes amongst almost 400 billion trees – including the capinuri, a large, smooth-barked tree that can grow up to 45 metres. Art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast takes these delicate ecosystems as the focus of a new immersive video installation. Breathing with the Forest, which is now on display at Compton Verney, recreates a real plot of the Amazonian forest in its full majesty. The piece reveals its beauty and fragility, urging audiences to reconnect with the natural world.
Tropical rainforests are often called the “lungs of the planet”, drawing in carbon and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. This vital function is a central consideration to Marshmallow Laser Feast. Visitors to Compton Verney will be immersed in the damp light and rippling soundscape of the tropical rainforest. Audiences move freely around the space, gazing up at the majestic capinuri tree whilst an intricate flow of carbon, water and oxygen from the soil moves up through the air. The gentle movement encourages people to synchronise their breathing with what they see. There is a moment of communion, offering a reminder that the exhalations that come from the Amazon are essential to ensuring clean air for humanity. There is something mystical about seeing the invisible natural processes brought to life, with glittering strands of oxygen and carbon creating a perfect visualisation of how delicate this system really is.
The installation began with a series of ecological surveys of the capinuri tree. The artists involved travelled to an exact location – 4° 2′ 39.15″ S 70° 5′ 2.45″ W – to gather volumetric data and field recordings. The project is part of an ongoing digital preservation process for endangered ecosystems and the species that inhabit these biomes. There is no doubt that this is essential work. According to a study published in Nature, the Amazon’s dry season is now more than 2°C higher than it was 40 years ago and could reach over 4°C. The impact of these catastrophic changes are seen in the very trees that Marshmallow Laser Feast documents. One major finding is that the forests are on the move. Warming temperatures have seen trees from the tropical and subtropical rainforests of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and northern Argentina migrate to cooler altitudes, where their saplings have a greater chance to thrive. This is causing observable changes in forest composition, as heat-seeking plants take the place of cold-loving species, likely introducing unavoidable disruptions in long-established ecosystems. It’s chilling to think that Marshmallow Laser Feast’s projections have the potential to become a documentation of a lost world.
Breathing with the Forest is an opportunity to experience nature from a new angle – seeing, sensing and breathing as though part of the Amazon’s ecosystem. The exhibition strikes a delicate and difficult balance of expressing the urgency of the climate crisis, whilst also refusing to give into hopelessness. The overriding sense is one of collectiveness. Viewers are reminded that we are not separate from the rainforest, despite a distance of thousands of miles. It is essential to the way we live now, tomorrow and into the future. Breathing with the Forest is at once a meditative experience and a rallying cry for action.
Breathing with the Forest is at Compton Verney from 8 February – 6 April: comptonverney.org.uk
Image Credits:
All images © Marshmallow Laser Feast.
