Walking the forest imaginary: A breath between us

Abstract

Walking the forest imaginary: a breath between us is a site-specific audio artwork that invites the audience to walk into the forest imaginary populated by things magical and unseen. Crafted uniquely in response to Alingsås Nolhaga Park, and using cues in the landscape as guides to research and poetic inscription, the artwork consists of an approximately one-hour walk with audio listening points throughout the park. Audio is accessed digitally through QR codes posted on pre-existing pathways and listened to with individual headphones. Wandering pathways through the woods, participants listen to a hybrid essay that explores the alternate spaces and time scales of the miniature worlds of moss. Focusing on the ancient and present role of bryophytes in creating oxygen and storing carbon, and helping to keep our ecosystem in balance, the work considers this ancient exchange as a form of dialogue.