Plant A Forest
A forest in a stadium brings a dystopian sketch to life.
Swiss contemporary art curator Klaus Littmann transformed Wörthersee soccer stadium in Austria into a native central European forest, in response to pressing concerns about deforestation and climate change.
Opened in September, “For Forest—the unending attraction of nature” marked the country’s largest public art installation to date, with almost 300 trees planted “with a lot of care.” Once rooted, the trees took on a life of their own, attracting wildlife and changing colors as the season turns. Beyond the stadium, there was an array of events, performances, and exhibitions for the public to engage with. After the project, the forest lives on in a public site and remains “a living forest sculpture.”
This monumental work was inspired by “The Unending Attraction of Nature,” a pencil drawing from the 70s by Austrian artist and architect Max Peinter that depicts a forest as a display piece in a dystopian, industrial future. The drawing challenges our perception of nature through a thought experiment: imagine a future where the forest becomes nothing more than an exhibited object! By displaying exactly that, the art intervention reminds us that forests, which we have long taken for granted, may someday only be found in designated spaces, as is already the case with many animals in zoos. In Austria, climate change is a top concern, with recent election results suggesting it has replaced migration as the most pressing issue of the moment.
Sources: For Forest | designboom (September 6, 2018) | Image: Image: UNIMO & Max Peintner