Dear2050
Arboreal Futures
EPFL Pavilions, Pavilion A, Lausanne
13 November 2024 – 5 January 2025
Trees can live for more than 1,000 years, while current climate models predict climate change of just over 100 years in the future. What will happen afterwards? A collaboration between the EPFL Plant Ecology Research Lab (PERL), performance artist Maja Renn and designer and artist Krzysztof Wronski has given rise to a speculative journey through time and into the near future of indigenous trees.
Krzysztof Wronski’s multimedia installations explore how living trees can be given extended possibilities for action and abilities. The artist’s prototypes and interventions are intended to serve trees and at the same time scrutinise the relationships between humans and living organisms that are struggling with the climate crisis.
The performative installation [Pheno]Plasticity by artist Maja Renn describes scientific findings on the property of phenotypic plasticity, i.e. the ability of organisms to form different shapes in response to environmental conditions.
The research of the Plant Ecology Research Lab under the direction of Professor Charlotte Grossiord shows the latest research on the physiological and ecological reactions of terrestrial ecosystems to global change.
What role do trees play in human society? How are they adapting to climate change? Can technology support this adaptation process? And what can humans learn from trees?
The transdisciplinary exhibition ARBOREAL FUTURES is part of the Dear2050 series and was produced by Climanosco, EPFL Pavilions and Durabilité EPFL.
with
Maja Renn
Maja Renn, born in 1990 in Wroclaw, Poland, is a visual and performance artist. With a focus on interspecies entanglement, nurturance, and tentacular dreaming, her work proposes approaches for imagining and embodying symbiotic models for the future. Her pieces, often collaborative and transdisciplinary, take a variety of forms: from immersive dance productions to participatory movement sessions and intimate one-to-one rituals.
She completed an MA in Art Praxis at the Dutch Art Institute in Arnhem, the Netherlands, postgraduate studies at the Center of Contemporary Art in Tbilisi, Georgia, and various further education courses, including those at the Grotowski Institute in Wroclaw, Poland.
She lives in Zurich, where she has worked for various institutions, including the Schauspielhaus and the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). Presently, she runs bewegende kunstformen, an association dedicated to the creation and dissemination of inter- and transdisciplinary performance, and works as a dance teacher at various public schools.
[Pheno]Plasticity
Performative installation, 2024
Weaving together plant ecology research, choreography and video, [Pheno]Plasticity translates the natural processes occurring in biodiverse forests into performative sequences, presented as an immersive video installation.
Based on her residency at the Plant Ecology Research Lab (PERL), Maja Renn explored the phenomenon of «phenotypic plasticity», which refers to the ability of organisms to adjust their physiology, morphology or development in response to environmental changes. This ability is especially crucial for immobile organisms, such as trees, which cannot move away from unfavourable conditions.
The installation features two dancers – each represented on one of opposing screens – embodying two tree species: beech and oak. Much like scientific models forecasting various ecological futures, the choreography explores multiple scenarios, translating phenomena such as plasticity, adaptability, symbiosis and extinction into the scale and temporality of the human body.
Using deliberate anthropomorphization, the work aims to evoke empathy for more-than-human forms of life, foster appreciation for long-term relationships within ecosystems, and underscore the urgency of protecting old-growth forests.
Artistic Direction: Maja Renn
Choreography and Production Assistance: Misia Żurek
Dance: Haeyeon Lim, Elias Blau
Video Collaboration: Claudio Zenger
Video Assistance: Minh Trang Poplawska
Sound: Jonathan Lin
Scientific Collaboration: Kate Johnson
Excerpts from the conversation between the artist Maja Renn and Dr. Kate Johnson, Scientist at the Plant Ecology Research Laboratory, EPFL
Trees aren’t static; they adapt to their environment. Since plants are essentially immobile, their adaptation cannot be temporal; it must be physical. This adaptability, known as phenotypic plasticity, means that although plants have a genetic code that determines their general growth form, their physical traits and shapes can vary based on external factors. This adaptation occurs at various levels, from the roots and branches to the trunk and leaves.
Phenotypic plasticity can be crucial for plants’ survival in the face of climate change. If a plant has higher phenotypic plasticity, it means that as environmental conditions shift due to human impact on the planet, the plant can adjust its growth patterns, enhancing its ability to adapt and survive.
Plants are essentially immobile; therefore, the way they adapt cannot be temporal (by relocating over time, like animals do); it must be physical. The most common examples of phenotypic plasticity relate to light and water, two key resources plants compete for. If two trees are growing next to each other and one reaches the canopy first, shading the other, the shaded tree compensates by enlarging its leaves to capture more sunlight.
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If you grab a leaf and crush it, you’ve caused an injury, and the plant will probably cut that leaf off from all the other systems. Plants are very reactive; they respond to their external environment not only in the immediate term but also in the context of plasticity. There is the immediate response, there is the plastic response, and then there is the evolutionary response.
An immediate response could be a plant turning toward the sun (phototropism). Sunflowers, for instance, track the sun’s movement throughout the day. On the other hand, a plastic response could involve a plant growing thicker leaves to reduce water loss. Over long periods, plastic changes may become permanent evolutionary traits. If something keeps happening to a species, it will first turn into a plastic response, and then the adaptation will eventually become part of what the species is.
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Hormones run our lives, and in many ways, they run the lives of plants too. Plant growth is driven by hormones like auxin, which travel through the plant’s water and sugar transport systems to stimulate growth in dividing cells. These dividing areas, known as meristematic regions, enable plants to keep growing. Once these meristematic regions have died, that’s when the tree basically dies, as it can’t undergo further growth.
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Plants also respond to physical stimuli like gravity, touch, and light. Gravitropism directs roots downward and stems upward, while phototropism guides plants toward light. Thigmomorphogenesis is a response to touch; for example, when exposed to wind or touched, plants may alter their growth patterns, resulting in changes to stem thickness, leaf size, and overall structure.
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All these processes show how plants, though immobile, constantly adapt to survive and thrive in changing conditions. By doing things in a slightly different way, organisms can coexist within the same environment without direct competition.
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Biodiverse forests handle climate change better because they create and regulate their own microclimates. While the overall climate is warming and drying, the forest contains various pockets: near the ground, conditions are wetter, colder, and darker. There are also pockets in the middle that get filtered light, and pockets at the top, which are quite dry due to constant sun exposure.
All these little microclimates become very complex and intertwined in a biodiverse climax ecosystem. The way that plants regulate these microclimates helps the forest maintain ideal conditions for growth, making it more resilient to larger climate changes.
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Let us think of two trees of different species growing next to each other in a new area. As their seeds germinate, they quickly send roots downward to search for water and grow leaves upward to capture light. The two trees will compete for light; one might reach the canopy first, forcing the other to adapt by growing bigger leaves in the shade. As both trees are trying to reach the canopy, one may get shaded so much that even producing bigger leaves will not help. Or it may reach down for water, but it will be in the wrong spot; there will be no water. In both cases, this tree will die.
Trees may also face further competition, such as vines wrapping around them or parasitic plants. Parasitism is a type of symbiosis where one species benefits at the expense of the other, but the parasite doesn’t aim to kill its host, since they need to coexist.
Once the trees reach the canopy, they expand their branches more slowly, and as long as there are no major disturbances like storms or human interference, they continue to grow and live for the rest of their natural lifespan, which, depending on the species, can range from 20 to 100 years.
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Excerpts from the conversation between the artist Maja Renn and Dr. Kate Johnson, Scientist at the Plant Ecology Research Laboratory, EPFL
Krzysztof Wronski
Krzysztof Wronski is a researcher, designer, and artist intervening in emergent and urgent spaces. In his artistic practice, Krzysztof creates research-driven conceptual works about social and ecological challenges, commonly through public interventions. His work does not intend to solve problems but to dance with and around them to promote dialogue, participation, and exploration around potential alternatives — a starting point leading to another starting point. Currently, Krzysztof is focusing on whether and how design and innovation processes could address the existential needs of trees and forests in collaboration with scientists.
Krzysztof was born in 1988 in Chicago, USA to Polish parents and is a Polish-American currently living in Copenhagen, Denmark. After studying and working extensively as a graphic, industrial, and service designer over a 15 year period, Krzysztof relocated to Barcelona in 2020 to study Design for Emergent Futures. Since this experience, he has been developing a creative practice that challenges design and innovation processes intended only to produce economic growth and serve privileged humans.
Based on his art residency at PERL, Krzysztof Wronski developed a series of interventions. These are designed to help living trees better cope with stress caused by heat, drought and other hazards and experimentally explore whether and how technologies and other tools could be used to give trees new capabilities or more room for manoeuvre. How could trees move to a more comfortable place? What would trees want for their offspring? How would our relationship with trees change if we could talk to them? The artist’s work encourages us to think about the impact of human behaviour on other species. Who or what is prioritised? What resources would be needed to ensure the survival of species?
Protest Mushrooms
Sculptures, clay, copper, electronic components, kombucha SCOBY, 2024
The protest mushrooms react to movements and protest against harmful land use practices that compromise forest ecology. The sounds emitting from the mushrooms feature ’nSchuppel, a Swiss collective exploring the process in which traditions are created. By exploring naturjodel and other ancient cultural practices, they breathe new perspectives and add their voices into what is meant to be kept unchanged.
Feels like 1950
Video of an intervention, 2024
The work Feels Like 1950 can be understood as a climate chamber for trees. Based on the WSL’s MODOEK model ecosystem facility, the Feels like 1950 is a mobile climate tent that can be placed over any tree and offers it comfortable living conditions based on historical climate data. In addition, various sensors such as a cavitation camera are installed to monitor the well-being of the tree. These automatically make adjustments in the chamber to ensure the tree’s comfort, attempting to recreate the conditions the chosen tree would have experienced in 1950. The intervention is not intended to be a solution, but to encourage reflection on the effects of climate change and what resources would be needed to enable other species to survive the climate crisis.
Aerial Relocation Assistance
Video of an intervention, paper, acorns, 2023
In his intervention Aerial relocation assistance, Krzysztof Wronski playfully explores the possibilities of assisted migration. He collects acorns in urban areas in order to scatter them in places where the plants have a better chance of survival. With the help of a commercial drone, to which a controllable basket is attached, and a few biodegradable parachutes, he drops the acorns high in the air. This can also become a political statement: in the intervention documented here, a golf course becomes the target. In this way, the artist criticises how landscapes are turned into highly structured, man-made structures.
Migrating Tree – with Pietro Rustici
Mobile installation, 2024
The pace at which the climate is changing threatens many trees, stressing them beyond their ability to acclimate. It is possible that tree species that have been native to Switzerland since the last ice age, will no longer be able to survive where they are today. In collaboration with the Barcelona-based engineer Pietro Rustici, the artist created an autonomous, solar-powered rover as a process work with which a tree can use to migrate. Migrating Tree demonstrates how a living tree could travel toward a Northern latitude during its own lifetime as independently and cleanly as possible. The vehicle will set off on its maiden voyage in 2025.
Plant Ecology Research Lab (PERL)
How do global warming, rising evaporative demand, and more frequent and intense droughts affect trees and, thus, the essential functions and services provided for humans by forest ecosystems? This question forms the overreaching goal at the Plant Ecology Research Laboratory (PERL) of EPFL and WSL. The research group aims to better understand the physiological and ecological responses of terrestrial ecosystems to global change, with a focus on anticipating and counteracting its effects.
Key research themes of the laboratory are the impact of biodiversity loss on ecosystem functions and services, and the physiological processes involved in plant responses to climatic stress. The research team uses novel technics and approaches at scales going from the cell to the whole ecosystem in diverse environmental conditions in temperate, Mediterranean and tropical systems. Research is conducted in controlled conditions in greenhouses and growth chambers, in manipulative field experiments, and uses long-term national and international inventory platforms. This integrative approach has both theoretical and applied aims to address the parameterization of climate-vegetation models and guide new climate-smart management practices.
How do trees adapt to climate change?
Adaptation is the process by which organisms adjust to changes in their environment, enhancing their survival and reproduction. Trees adapt to climate change through various mechanisms. One of their key strategies are phenological shifts, where trees alter the timing of life events like leafing, flowering, or fruiting to better match the changing climate. For instance, some species are leafing earlier in spring as temperatures rise. Genetic adaptation is another pathway, where natural selection favors traits better suited to new conditions, such as drought tolerance or heat resistance. This process can be slow but crucial for long-term survival. Migration is also vital: tree populations shift their ranges toward more favorable climates, typically moving poleward or to higher elevations. Trees can also adapt through physiological changes. They can adjust their leaf size, stomatal density, or root depth to improve water use efficiency and cope with increased drought or heat stress. Finally, species composition in forests may change, with more resilient species outcompeting others, leading to new forest dynamics. However, the rapid pace of climate change poses challenges, potentially outpacing the ability of many tree species to adapt naturally.
What can humans do to help trees adapt?
Humans can contribute to the process of adaptation by aiding species, including trees, in responding to environmental changes. One way is through assisted migration, where humans help relocate species to areas with more favorable conditions, enhancing their chances of survival. We can also support habitat restoration by reforesting areas with native species that are resilient to climate change, thus preserving biodiversity. Another approach is genetic conservation. By maintaining and protecting a wide genetic pool in both wild and cultivated species, we allow for greater adaptability. Humans can also implement sustainable land management practices that reduce environmental stressors like deforestation, pollution, and habitat fragmentation, giving species a better chance to adapt naturally.
What can we learn from trees?
From trees, humans can learn about resilience and flexibility. Trees have adapted over millennia to varying conditions by altering their growth patterns, root structures, and reproduction strategies. Similarly, humans can become more resilient by adopting sustainable practices, diversifying our food and energy sources, and building communities that can
withstand environmental stress. Just as trees gradually adapt to their
surroundings, humans must plan for the future, prioritizing actions that support the long-term health of our planet and societies.
How could our perception of trees change?
A change of perspective on trees could lead to greater efforts in conservation, reforestation, and sustainable forestry practices. Trees are not only resources or scenic backdrops, but critical allies in addressing environmental challenges. They are not individual organisms but integral components of complex ecosystems that regulate climate, purify air and water, and support biodiversity. By appreciating the intelligence and resilience of trees and understanding them as living entities that communicate, adapt, and contribute to the well-being of their surroundings, we might begin to see trees as teachers of patience and interconnectedness, given their long lifespans and their role in connecting various elements of the ecosystem. Trees are a climate solution with an important role in carbon sequestration, temperature regulation, and mitigating the effects of climate change.
Podcast
Tree-centered design
What if, for once, we didn’t just focus on the needs of people, but put those of trees at the centre? Krzysztof Wronski explains the practice of ‘tree-centred design’ that he has developed. He invites us to explore together what a design or innovation process could look like if it focused on the needs of trees (or other living beings) rather than humans.
Threat from the sky
An invisible force sucks the water out of plants’ leaves. Hot and dry summers are not only a threat to human health, but also to plants. EPFL professor Charlotte Grossiord and her team have investigated the effects of hot, dry summers on plants: a danger from the sky that causes plants to dry out despite irrigation.
A day in the life of a researcher at PERL
What does it mean to research climate change? How do scientists deal with sobering research results? Philipp Schuler, researcher at the Plant Ecology Research Lab at EPFL, talks about the effects of climate change on trees, why research is important and what researchers actually do all day.
Press
> RTS Info on Instagram, 12 November 24: See on instagram
> La Liberté, 10 December 24: See the article
> EPFL Pavilions, Pavilion A, Lausanne
Place Cosandey
1015 Lausanne, Suisse
13 November 24 – 5 January 25
Tuesday – Sunday, 11 – 18 h
Free Entrance
EPFL Pavilions’ building is fully accessible for people with reduced mobility and strollers.
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