An art show with clear designs on the sustainability of our planet’s forests

The work of our Forests Campaign is featured in a new exhibition at London’s Serpentine Sackler Gallery entitled Cambio.

The artists behind the exhibition are called Formafantasma, an Italian duo (Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin) who aim to link and explore design’s ecological and political responsibilities while probing the global industries consuming natural resources.

In Australia, they addressed the problem of electronic waste and have now decided to explore timber. In their own words – “Cambio, from the medieval Latin cambium, ‘change exchange’, is an ongoing investigation conducted by Formafantasma into the governance of the timber industry.

Vanessa Richardson at the exhibition (c) EIAimage

“Each of these investigations represents a collaboration with experts from the fields of science, conservation, engineering, policy-making and philosophy. Together, they move from a microscopic analysis of wood and its ability to store carbon dioxide to a metaphysical understanding of trees as living organisms.”

The exhibition features pieces of wood from rare, endangered and extinct trees from Kew Gardens’ xylarium, everyday objects made from trees, visual essays set to video installations and bespoke designs made from a single tree blown over in a storm in northern Italy in 2018.

Our Forest Campaigner Vanessa Richardson is featured in one of the interviews and additionally has contributed the text for one of the visual essays and an essay for the exhibition catalogue.

Following the launch of the exhibition yesterday (3 March) she reflected: “It’s amazing to see so many complex issues surrounding our historical and philosophical relationship with forests put together in such a beautiful and thought-provoking way.

“Research, policy-making and environmental campaigning are really brought to life; everyone behind Formafantasma carried out a phenomenal amount of research and their efforts are reflected in such an insightful and sensorial experience – even the scents of a forest are echoed throughout the gallery!”

The free exhibition Cambio will be running at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery until 17 May 2020.