Spirits of the Tree

To be in contact with trees. To experience something that’s both poetic and sensory – that’s what the Spirits of the Tree exhibition has in store, a multidisciplinary installation by Thierry Dubreuil, Michel Gautier and their associate, Michael Moisseeff.

Enjoying nature differently

To learn about trees and to want to protect them, there’s no need to know what species they are or if, for example, their buds are alternate or opposite.

Approaching nature by way of art, the senses or contemplation also lets us discover the great network we all belong to: the network of living things.

The exhibition Spirits of the Tree allows us to make a foray into the world of trees by way of installations that involve the use of the eyes, the ears – and even the nose.

A play of shadow and light

Like a fairytale, the Spirits of the Tree exhibition being presented at the Frédéric Back Tree Pavilion is an invitation to dream and to escape. All the senses come into play!

Here, the work of multidisciplinary artist Michel Gautier presents fragments of bare trees that come together, form poetic totems and multiply through a set of mirrors. There, luminous sap circulates and illustrates the strength and the fragility of living things.

Photographer Thierry Dubreuil, meanwhile, lets visitors imagine their own bestiary. Thanks to lights playing on a mosaic of tree branches, ape, unicorn and human silhouette appear or disappear to the rhythm of nature.

Just like being there!

The sounds of the wind, birds and thunder adorn the exhibition and can catch people off guard – children, at first frightened by the rumblings of the storm, make a getaway, only to quietly slip back in and enjoy a happy little scare in the total safety of the exhibit hall.

The olfactory landscapes concocted by aroma sculptor Michael Moisseeff take us through an immense territory. From the boreal belt by way of Asia, Africa and Oceania, our nostrils and hearts thrill to the aromas of balsam fir, eucalyptus and burnt wood. It’s just like being there! The environment makes it possible for every visitor to get back in touch with his or her own imaginings and with nature.

And now?

Trees are with us. Their presence on Earth has been weakened. “Yes, trees and humans have been bound together since the dawn of time,” states exhibition curator Manon Regimbald,” breathing and growing as one, inseparable. And now?” she wonders. And now...if we got back in touch?

Visit the Spirits of the Tree exhibition.