What does it mean when we say that “nature” is the artist?

To explore this question, American ecological artist, filmmaker and author Patrick M. Lydon brought ten white canvases to a remote forest in the mountains of South Korea and placed them there. He invited the forest to become an artist and gave it a year to complete its work. The finished canvases were exhibited at the contemporary art gallery PlaceMAK in Seoul, and the forest was credited as the artist. The profits from works sold went back to the forest.

The following short documentary reveals more about the process and the thinking behind Lydon’s concept, in which he merely takes on the role of the coordinator and the forest’s assistant, as he describes it.

Patrick M. Lydon, Forest is the Artist, Symbioscene, Symbiocene
Patrick M. Lydon, Forest is the Artist, Symbioscene, Symbiocene
Patrick M. Lydon, Forest is the Artist, Symbioscene, Symbiocene
Patrick M. Lydon, Forest is the Artist, Symbioscene, Symbiocene
Patrick M. Lydon, Forest is the Artist, Symbioscene, Symbiocene
Patrick M. Lydon, Forest is the Artist, Symbioscene, Symbiocene

About Patrick M. Lydon:

In addition to promoting the topic of human-nature relationships through his work as an artist and filmmaker, Lydon is the founder of City of Nature (Osaka & Seoul) and arts editor for The Nature of Cities (New York). He has also co-authored several books and writes for a variety of publications and blogs. He currently lives in Osaka, Japan, where he and his wife run The Branch art space and urban farm.


Image Sources:

© Partick M. Lydon