Fall 2022 installation photos of “A Forest for The Trees,” an immersive, interactive experience in Los Angeles created and directed by Glenn Kaino
Concern for the earth and cutting-edge technology aren’t always seen as compatible concepts, but Glenn Kaino’s A Forest for the Trees,” a 35-minute multi-media experience brings the two together in a unique conjunction. The project is intended to raise awareness and urgency by amplifying tribal stories, ancestral knowledge of indigenous peoples, and ecological issues through immersive and interactive encounters. Produced by SuperBlue (a showcase for experiential art) and born from an extensive collaboration with Atlantic journalists, tribal leaders, environmental scientists, and artists, A Forest for the Trees weaves together a multiplicity of voices and modes. It also occupies a fascinating and (at times slightly uneasy) position as an amalgam of contemporary art, (for-profit) cultural entertainment, eco-science, and environmental activism, which asks visitors to reimagine their relationship with the natural world and with Native American traditions and culture. .
Sprawling across a 28,000 square foot warehouse in Los Angeles, the exhibit (a term typical for immersive experiences these days) evokes a surreal forest broken into several experiential spaces - essentially stations, some more engaging or aesthetically appealing than others. A Forest begins by listening as a group to a tribal story about ecosystem renewal, while encircled in a small dark space with projected woodcut illustrations (before the imagery switches to a more science-driven bent ); next an activity involving a spinning optical illusion, and led by a guide, gets visitors to consider the vast interconnectedness of the world. This is followed by walking through a specially-lit thicket of reclaimed California redwood trees, interacting with a giant illusion of fire that reacts to motion, “walking” on water (in the form of stunning glass flooring), and finally hearing from a group of “talking” masks with indigenous voices speaking about nature which activate individually when approached.
The culmination of A Forest for the Trees, and true WOW moment, occurs at the at the end of the exhibit. Here, visitors are encouraged to congregate on benches made from reclaimed trees, facing the final installation, a massive tree sculpture called Resurrection. This sculpture is based on the remains of the famous Olivera Street Fig Tree, a 144-year old tree and LA landmark, which was sadly felled in a 2019 storm. Giving it new form, artist Glenn Kaino constructed a giant armature of steel cubes with glass fronts à la Minecraft, connecting the parts of the dismantled tree. Activated in a timed performance of operatic light and sound, the huge installation is meant to evoke a magical resurrection of the Olivera Fig Tree, which in turn becomes a metaphor for resurrecting our own appreciation of trees and the forests that contain them.
Especially having visited the area in and around Olivera Street earlier that day, I was particularly struck by the chord of local specificity. And in the end, Resurrection was truly more poignant and beautiful than I would have expected.