Dm

Post-Forest was an interdisciplinary research / design / art project resulting in an artificial forest constructed of recycled Christmas trees and shipping pallets. Post-Forest explored the economic, social, and ecological aspects of the Christmas tree industry and translated that into a piece of public art to explore and enjoy.

The project involved three main pieces:

The first was a research component, which is already underway. It covers the economic, social, and ecological aspects of the Christmas tree industry including production, distribution, and disposal. Each year, 30-35 million trees are harvested from 500,000 acres of land in North America alone. Where do these trees come from? How do they get from there to people's living rooms? What is the carbon footprint (both inputs and outputs)?

The second piece involved mapping the process of collecting the trees that were used to construct the garden. We chose a cross-section of Philadelphia neighborhoods encompassing varying demographics. The mapping played into the design of garden - encoding within it a secondary layer of information.

The third piece was the design and construction of the garden. This was influenced by the collection and mapping logistics, but also included the visceral and experiential quality of occupying and moving through the garden. In the end, the main motivation was to create a surreal and sublime experience to share with the campus and the community at large.