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Tree Sense
TREE SENSE is a multidisciplinary exhibition coordinated by Pontio, Bangor University and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. Through a series of creative installations, discussions, workshops and performances, it communicates multiple perspectives on trees and inter-relationships with people, wildlife, and the wider environment.
Come and experience how it develops over the period March – May, through the activities and the creative residencies in our public spaces.
“In the exhibition, we are celebrating the role of trees in our lives from every perspective, from the science of forestry and conservation, through health and wellbeing, to history and the arts.
Trees form the structure of forest habitats that have the highest biodiversity on earth, have been the stage for the evolutionary history of primates, and have played a key role throughout the development of human civilization. They provide us with the most renewable material for our shelter, locking up carbon in the wooden structure and furnishing of our homes. Bangor University is the UK's leading centre for research and education on trees, their conservation and management.”
John Healey, Professor of Forest Sciences at Bangor University
“Trees are all around us and they are key to the planet’s health, as well as to human wellbeing. People relate to trees in many ways; a forest or a particular tree can play a central role in someone’s attachment to a place; they can inspire different forms of art; and we are aware of the scientific importance of trees for an ecosystem. Although it is impossible to capture all these perspectives in a single exhibition, we felt it was important to approach the topic in a multidisciplinary way that is as inclusive as possible, offering all kinds of inspiration.”
Thora Tenbrink, Professor of Linguistics at Bangor University
DATES
Friday 3 March, 5.30 - 7.30pm
Launch - During the launch there will be musical performances by Tegid Rhys and the Gwynedd Cello Ensemble, a poetry performance by Briony Collins and Caleb Nichols (Arts Culture and Language School) as well as the inaugural EGINO event by resident artists Utopias Bach.
Tuesday 14 March, 6.30pm
Poetry performance with Jason Allen Paisant and Ysgol Friars pupils.
Saturday 18 March
11am + 1pm: Creative workshop with Utopias Bach (11+) as part of Pontio Family Day. Led by Rhys Trimble
11.30am + 1.30pm:Woodland craft skills with Small Woods Wales (8+) led by James Carpenter
Saturday 8 April
Woodland Tales with Grandad And workshop with Utopias Bach (3+), led by Rhona Bowey.
Thursday 4 May, 7-9pm
Art Kiosk Night on the bar stage
Weekend 26 - 27 May
Closing Events
ANTHONY YNOHTNA
Anthony Ynohtna’s multidisciplinary practice is a visual outlet of expression and self-therapy. His work considers mental health and wellbeing, reflecting on the therapeutic benefits of art in response to the impacts of trauma.
His sculpture ‘Euler’ suspends in Pontio's main atrium, made of wooden posts which form a helix. The form is inspired by patterns found in nature, mathematics and science, and it connects them whilst reminding us of the presence and influence of humans in every aspect of our environment.
UTOPIAS BACH
Utopias Bach is a creative collective which invites you to explore personal and communal relationships to the human and more-than-human world. During the residency, they will use art, photography, poetry, mapping, costume making, performance, storytelling and collaborative enquiry to create a forest-like interconnected community.
Their Experimental School is a series of Cylchoedd, shaped around a different question, and you are invited to participate at home, online and at Pontio. For more information go to: www.utopiasbach.org/intro-at-ein-coed
JOE ROBERTS
Joe Roberts is an artist, metalworker, and environment sector strategist. His creative practice inhabits the space between botany, zoology and anthropology, often referencing ecological processes as a lens through which to interrogate humanity.
His artwork ‘Everywhere at once and nowhere in particular’ is centred on the last remaining Yew tree at the site Eglwys Llanfair Garth Branan, the medieval church that sat in the grounds of Bangor University. Through digital scanning and several layers of interpretation before re-creating the tree out of metal, he echoes the Yew’s transformation over time, exploring its physical and metaphoric mycelia.
MOLLY MACLEOD
Locating her practice at the intersection of art and science, Molly has grown crystals that hear sounds, cultured the microbial imprint of TATE Modern visitors, revealed the sonic world from inside trees and the electrical currents hidden within the soil beneath our feet. She's a graduate from MA Art & Science at Central Saint Martins and has collaborated with ecologists and scientists from The WEISS Centre, CERN and The Tokyo Institute of Technology.
During her residency, she will explore the rare Menai Whitebeam, a critically endangered species of tree which is only found in a small area by the shore of the Menai Strait, in the Nant Porth Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSI).
CONTRIBUTORS
In addition to the main commissions and residencies, Bangor University staff and students were invited to contribute in a form of their choice, and the following members will take part in the exhibition and connected programme of events.
School of Natural Sciences
Amy Gresham
Heli Gittins (+ Coed Lleol)
School of History, Law and Social Sciences
Anna Monnereau
Lucy Finchett-Maddock
School of Ocean Sciences / Treborth Botanic Gardens
Kathryn Davies
UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
Catherine Walker
Kate Randall
School of Arts, Culture and Language
Caleb Nichols + Briony Collins
Lina Davitt
Judith Samuel
Sarah Pogoda
Zoë Skoulding
BioComposites Centre
Morwenna Spear
Simon Curling
Athansios Dimitriou
Carlo Kupfernagel
Chris Miles
A special display ‘For Dom, Bruno & the Amazon’ will also be presented, in memory of the journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira who were murdered last year while researching the Amazon.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The project has been funded by Hefcw and the Arts Council of Wales