Using custom-built cameras, environmental artist Jonathon Keats has created a method for capturing ultra-long photographic exposures; at the same time, SEEC Photography has developed a method for capturing ultra-fast videos that can depict the movement of light across everyday objects at exposure times of less than a billionth of a second. The combination of these two timelines provides a unique perspective on the global, man-made conditions of living in the world. Decisions made in an instant can have far-reaching consequences for the environment over centuries. This is especially true for forestry, where there is a direct link to global warming. “Temporal Forest” aims to illustrate the ecology of the forest and forestry practices in the context of a concept of time. On a mountain top in the Salzkammergut region, a camera is installed overlooking a landscape that has been heavily shaped by salt mining and industry in recent centuries. An attached plaque refers to the 1000-year exposure time and is intended to encourage hikers to look at the environment from the long-term perspective of trees.
An indoor installation in the Brauhof gallery in Scharnstein will show films in which light moves at the speed of light over a tree, wood and forestry equipment. With exposure times of less than a billionth of a second, these films illustrate the dynamics crucial to photosynthesis on a time scale 20 orders of magnitude different from the 1000-year exposures. Exactly in between is the moment when humans make decisions – decisions that can have repercussions for centuries to come. These installations therefore highlight the need to think beyond man’s natural time horizon – a challenge that has never been more urgent than it is today.
Accompanying the project, a brochure will highlight the historical relationship between wood and the European salt industry, and a map will be produced leading to the millennium camera in the Alps.
Woodpassage – 40 steps from the tree to the house
The tree grows in the forest – the tree becomes wood – the wood becomes the house. The woodpassage, a “wooden sculpture for outdoor spaces”, memorably conveys this process in the Salzkammergut Capital of Culture region. The passage conveys the transformation from tree to house in 40 stages using simple pictogrammatic signs. This transformation is depicted as if cut out of large blocks of wood, slice by slice.
The result is a sensually tangible woodpassage consisting of 4 wooden gates measuring around 4 metres wide, 4 metres high and 5 metres long in total. Even from a distance, it conveys a strong, three-dimensional message. Walking through the illuminated passage, it becomes a playful mouthpiece for the ecological benefits of using wood and timber construction.
Further information on the subject of forests and wood: proholz.at/woodpassage
Location of the woodpassage (incl. Millenium camera Temporal Forest):
- 25/05 – 25/08/24: Marktplatz, Bad Goisern
- 31/08 – 03/11/24: Almsee, Grünau (near car park)
The Woodpassage project is subsidised by the Austrian Forest Fund. The initiator of the project is the cooperation platform Forst Holz Papier, which is managed by proHolz Oberösterreich.
