The World in the Woodland: a museum of the future, is an immersive audio trail made by artist Morgan Tipping designed to be experienced at Tortworth Arboretum and Forest Centre
Where can I find it?
On Saturday 17 of June 2023 audiences were invited to experience the first outing of this new and specially commissioned artist’s work. Since then, the team have been working for the project to be digitally accessible to all visitors on site. From mid October 2023, anyone visiting Tortworth Forest Centre and Arboretum will be able to see signboards about the commission, where you can follow a QR code to listen to the audio and access more information about additional artist contributions and the making of the project. You can also follow the links below to listen to the audio and watch the video-performance.
Who made it and why?
Morgan Tipping is a socially engaged artist, whose practice is informed by collaborating with people caught between social, economic and political constraints. She co-creates inclusive, experimental spaces and experiences that explore social relationships and challenge power imbalances. Tortworth Forest Centre were pleased to commission Morgan to undertake a three month research process to explore the multiple histories, expansive geographical connections and new imaginative possibilities within the Tortworth tree collection.
How was it made?
Artist Morgan Tipping constructed The World In The Woodland museum through a collaborative and responsive process of audio recorded interviews, workshops, sound design and relationship building, guided by creative generosity and care. The audio trail imagines what meanings can be made a-new when we experience ourselves in multi-species webs of relation. Here, stories are a means of connection, reciprocity and repair and the woodland is a place where we can acknowledge the past, find presence and re-imagine the future.
Collaborating with researchers
Morgan interviewed Robert Petitpas, a Chilean researcher at the University of Bristol. His research focuses on the political ecology of Pewen conservation. The Pewen (Araucaria araucana) , also commonly known as the Monkey puzzle tree by English speakers, represents one of the last remnants of the ancient, and formerly widespread, coniferous family Araucariaceae in South America. Robert shared stories about the Pewen tree and Pewenche people and his perspective on how we in the UK might think about our own connections to the Pewen tree at Tortworth.
Morgan also interviewed Térèsa Armijos Burneo, a lecturer in Natural Resources & International Development at the University of East Anglia. Térèsa’s research explores the relationship between humans and the environment, from a citizenship, human rights and environmental justice perspective. Térèsa shared stories about connections between plants, seeds and displaced people. Morgan and Térèsa also collaborated on the delivery of an experiential workshop for the Tortworth team in the lead-up to the trail launch, which explored Tortworth as an eco-social space.
Creative collaborations: Chile
Morgan invited two artists who work in the Pewen forests in Chile to make a creative commission as an act of solidarity, care and repair. Consuelo Sánchez is a researcher and visual artist from South of Chile. Her work questions hegemonic ways of thinking, feeling, and expressing the world, through the understanding of the relationship between bodies, emotions, space and place. Shakin Huaiquil Cariqueo is a Mapuche trans-female artist working in Chile. Shakin makes multidisciplinary artworks that make visible the importance between body and territory for the Mapuche people, as well as questioning the historical violence towards indigenous people, emphasising the role of non-Mapuche societies in conflict resolution.
These artists made a video performance entitled Hermanxs Pewen which is viewable here.
The audio of the film starts with a prayer which is spoken in Spanish and Mapudungun (the language of Mapuche people). The prayer acknowledges the presence of other forces in the forest and seeks to repair and symbolically reconnect the Pewen tree at Tortworth which was extracted from the other Pewen trees in Chile. In the performance the artists use a long piece of white fabric, to wrap the trunks of the Pewen trees and merge their own bodies with the enormous trunks. This action symbolises the importance of cohabitation and preserving the vitally important connection between identity and territory. The second part of audio in the film is reflection from the perspective of the Pewen trees, emphasising their ancestral heritage.
This piece and Consuelo Sánchez’s digital artwork below was available for visitors to see on the day of the trial launch and is downloadable via QR code at the Tortworth Forest Centre site.
Creative collaborations: UK
The audio walk also reflects themes of land and power, healing and resilience within the UK context. Morgan invited Bristol based vocalist and activist, Rosina Al-Shaater to make her own connection to Tortworth and Rosina wrote a poem, entitled This Land, in response. Morgan recorded Rosina reciting her poem as part of the trail. The poem was featured in one of the trail banners and Rosina was invited to speak about the inspiration for her poem at the trail launch.
Collaborating with activists
Morgan reached out to Jon Moses, a freelance writer and the organiser of campaign group Right To Roam. She recorded Jon sharing stories about the history of land dispossession in the UK and contemporary conversations around land reconnection today.
Collaborating with the communities at Tortworth
Morgan connected to people at the Hawthorn Group and volunteer sessions. She interviewed Anna, Clare and Ronnie share what it feels like to be part of the Tortworth eco-social community. They discuss how the trees, plants, places and people at Tortworth come together to heal and strengthen us.
Tortworth’s Maintenance Officer Gary and Collections Manager Jake collaborated with Morgan and gave multiple interviews that revealed changing attitudes at Tortworth over time. Gary also shared his thoughts about working with plants and trees at Tortworth and Jake talked about the significance of trees in the present and future.
Interacting with The World In The Woodland audio trail and artworks
On the 17th June 2023, the audio trail was a live experience led by the artist. Visitors on the trail were invited to listen to a constellation of voices, to explore the arboretum at their own pace and form their own connections to the trees. The audio features stories exploring different connections between people and trees at Tortworth and beyond. There were 8 corresponding banners, reflecting the different themes within the audio trail, acting as waymarkers and featuring more information about the people and topics involved.
Visitors were invited by the artist to find a way that suited them to interact with the stories and the woodland itself. Some walked, some sat, some lay down on grass or found a space in a tree to perch. Everyone who took part expressed how much they gained from the experience.
‘I’m so glad this tour was made; it was beautiful, calming and a different way to consciously connect to the trees’
‘I’d never thought about how colonialism connects with trees before’
‘The range of stories and voices, connected by this one species, was inspirational’
Tortworth Forest Centre founder Rebecca Briar shared;
“We are thrilled to be inviting audiences to explore the natural heritage of the Tortworth site through this creative experience. We hope that the audio walk will help people gain a richer understanding of our global tree collection, and the myriad stories that exist in any landscape, if you take time to listen.”
A final word from Morgan;
“When I started this commission, I thought about the arboretum as a living museum. But it’s not a museum that stores things to be preserved. Spending time and collaborating with networks of trees, plants, humans and animals has made me realise that conservation is not about preserving the past but about creating the future. In connecting to stories of trees and people all over the world, surprising ways of understanding our interconnection with trees have been revealed. I am really excited to invite visitors to come to Tortworth Forest Centre and explore their own connections to the spaces and stories that they encounter.”
To come and experience the commission first hand, visit our events page to book onto one of monthly visitor days.