Immersive summer exhibition ‘Forest: Wake This Ground’ will bring a group of international artists from multiple genres to Arnolfini

In a major group exhibition of artists, writers, filmmakers and composers this summer and autumn, Arnolfini will be paying homage to the intricacy and complexity of the forest.

Opening on July 2, Forest: Wake this Ground will be an immersive and sensory experience celebrating the myths and rhythms of the forest that reverberate across generations.

The human relationship with – an impact on – meteorology, is a core theme at play across the works, which also showcase recurrent ideas of exchange, collaboration, connectivity and communication.

Forging links between one work and the next, audiences will be invited to consider the idea of roots, regeneration and regrowth, “reminding us of both the forests’ ancient past and its fragile future”.

The launch will coincide with Arnolfini’s renewed commitment to sustainability, which will be shared as a core component of its future approach.

Film, live performance, family events and creative workshops will also be announced as part of the Arnolfini summer programme.

Bristol24/7 takes a look at some of the featured works in Forest: Wake this Ground, and the inspiration behind them:

David Nash – Family Tree, 1967-2019, pastel and charcoal on paper

David Nash, Family Tree, 1967-2019 – photo: Rob Harris

Based in north Wales, internationally renowned artist David Nash has been making work for nearly 50 years. He is most well-known for his wood sculptures, though drawing is central to his practice.

“Each idea is like a branch on an overall evolving body of work very much like the trunk of a tree that thickens and strengthens from the energy provided by each branch,” he says.

Maria Nepomuceno – Untitled works, 2013-2016, beads, ropes, ceramic, resine

Maria Nepomuceno, Untitled, 2013 – photo: courtesy of the artist and Victoria Miro

Using coils of brightly coloured rope, sewn together in spirals, Brazilian artist Maria Nepomuceno makes work reminiscent of the animal and plant worlds, from the microscopic to the macrocosmic scale. Traditional basketry techniques are fused with those of the artist’s own design in numerous, playful permutations.

Nepomuceno will be working on a new commission for the exhibition, from which a series of local community workshops will spring.

Ai Weiwei – Palace, 2019, Roots series, cast iron sculptures

Ai Weiwei, Palace, from Roots series, 2019 – photo: courtesy of the artist, Lisson Gallery and Neugerriemschneider, Berlin

Known and lauded throughout the world as an artist, human rights activist and thinker, Ai Weiwei is undoubtedly amongst the most prominent cultural figures of our age.

Through sculpture, film, photography, and installations, he uses universal symbols of humanity to explore conflict and freedom of expression. This work is a cast of sections of ancient roots and trunks from the endangered Pequi Vinagreiro tree in the Bahian rainforest.

Alma Heikkilä – ‘,’ /~’ flashing decaying wood, / /’_/~ . *\I * __ . . *, 2018, plaster, common alder, flower in, polyester, benzoic acid, pine wood, aluminium, iron, polythene

Alma Heikkilä, ‘,’ /~’ flashing decaying wood, / /’_/~ . *\I * __ . . * (2018) – photo: Rachel Moron

Interested in representing things which cannot be experienced by the human body and brain, Alma Heikkilä is fascinated by the minutiae of microbial life, the processes hidden underground and inside plants, as well as large scale natural phenonema.

Her contribution to the exhibition is a plaster sculpture that sits on top of a pool of ink, which in time will be absorbed into the plaster – perhaps causing it to change colour. The piece is designed to look like a decaying tree trunk, a key component of the forest ecosystem.

Mark Garry – An Lucht Siúil (The Walking People), 2020

Mark Garry, An Lucht Siúil (The Walking People), 2020 – photo: Mark Garry

Working across multiple media, Mark Garry’s artistic preoccupations are research driven and each may be respectively suited to one or more of his many facets as artist, curator, writer, educator and musician.

Narrated in five self-penned song sections, his film An Lucht Siúil is a nuanced exploration of the relationship between Irish Traveller communities and the Irish state in the mid-20th century.

John Newling – The Night Books; burning forests, 2020-2022, text coal dust, pigment and crushed charcoal

John Newling, The Night Books; burning forests (2022) – photo: James Gardiner

Nottingham’s John Newling makes public art that often sits within a social framework. He has made many site-specific works as well as exhibiting at galleries for decades.

The Night Books were conceived as a reflection on the Covid lockdowns, envisaged by the artist as “a human-induced layer of our geology”.

Forest: Wake This Ground is at Arnolfini from July 9-October 2 (Tuesday-Sunday, 11am-6pm). The exhibition is free and will be bookable in advance, though walk-ins are welcome. More information is available at www.arnolfini.org.uk.

Main photo: Ben Rivers

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