The Caledonian Forest of Scotland are living things that maintain themselves against the
mischief of the world by their own capacity for self-perpetuation, regeneration and expansion.
They are vibrant with life force.
Forests are often understood as places of harvest. In historical terms, they were landscapes with or without trees,
occupied by forfeited creatures hunted for sport and food. Woodland managers understand forests as trees planted for felling.
Ecologists are interested in forests for biodiversity. They see natural communities of trees and bushes, mosses,
lichens, ferns and fungi that reflect a range of ages and support creatures large and small.
A wild forest suggests nature removed from human interest and influence.
We're in one of the remnant, semi-natural wild forests of Scotland. It's only one of six estates that are over a thousand hectares.
A wild forest is presumed by many to be uninhabited and uncultivated. The longer it's ignored, the wilder it becomes.
We stand with many others that would suggest that a wild natural forest is a space of cultural import where the aesthetic, ecological and spiritual are closely aligned.
Wildness is an indication of vitality and life force that needs to be appreciated rather than ignored.
Decoys are primarily understood as skillfully crafted objects created to capture wild game.
Decoys have been used to set traps and divert attention. As representations of living things or as imitations or counterfeits of objects of desire,
they've been used to lure and entice others into compromising relationships.
Cultural decoys capture our attention and curiosity. They are autonomous objects that offer a visual and conceptual entanglement in things and meaning.
They can most often be found in museums and archives. A cultural decoy is an embodied idea that has a finite form here and now,
but links to an infinite set of things that occupy a separate historical or spatial context.
In this work, they refer to the natural and cultural aspect of forests.
If fully embraced, cultural decoys challenge ideas about the separation between artifact, nature, sitting in hanged forests.
Art expresses human experience. It tests the boundaries of perception, meaning and value.
Looking at art, we begin with reflective awareness and slowly engage our memory and imaginative intelligence.
How far from the world does art have to be to retain its strengths? And how close to the world does it have to get to engage the interests of people, places and things?
Art is one of the ways we understand who we are in this world.
The decoy is used here as a creative vehicle to explore the relationship between nature and culture, cities and distant Caledonian forests.
Empathy is a type of perception led by something outside of us.
It's about, but it's also more than, a simple understanding and interrelationship with human and non-human honest.
Empathy is beyond self-interest and most often directed at something different or foreign.
It involves attention to expressions of life force and engagement with the world.
We use a metaphorical projection to comprehend the experience of the other.
Empathy relies on the accumulation of familiar experiences and memories to give meaning to encounters with foreign things such as rare ancient forests.
As we consider the Caledonian forests, we ask ourselves, what do they mean? These forests emerge from history yet they're at the edge of imagination and often beyond the experience of many people that live in cities.
Some of these forests are 300 years old and more. They embody culture, reflecting centuries of conflict and land use changes.
Yet they are living examples of something that is wild and free, uniquely Scottish.
Some suggest that wild forests are best served when the rest of us choose to ignore them. Still others argue that wildness is an alignment of aesthetics, ecology and spirituality.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Cultural decoys provide a creative, visual and conceptual entanglement that can be more accessible than the forests themselves, yet build a community of interest around the idea and experience of these forests.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Forests are best served when engaged and appreciated.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
