2023 – Sugli innumerevoli serpenti… (forest)

Commission for the Akademie der Künste, Berlin

In the context of the commission from the Akademie der Künste, Berlin, to create an artistic chronology of Villa Serpentara, I was particularly interested in the question of which narratives are not preserved in the historical archival records and how I could make them visible and juxtapose them through artistic practice.
Among others, I consulted with natural communicators to speak with the ancient oak trees of the forest surrounding the villa, inquiring into their stories, and translated this dialogue visually into frottages of the bark, which seem to harbor a secret language.

To draw further attention to the forest as a repository of knowledge, I apply the method of inventory drawings, which I originally developed for archival work, to both the photographic material of the historical archive of Akademie der Künste, Berlin, and to the forest itself.

To draw further attention to the forest as a repository of knowledge, I apply the method of inventory drawings, which I originally developed for archival work, to both the photographic material of the historical archive at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin, and the forest itself.

Documentation of the creation of approximately 80 frottages from various tree barks in the Bosco Serpentara, Olevano Romano (IT)
approx. 28 × 50 cm–approx. 28 × 390 cm; approx. Ø 14 cm–approx. Ø 71 cm, all: graphite on paper