Dear2050

Trees can live for more than 1,000 years, and current climate models predict climate change of just over 100 years in the future. What will happen then? A collaboration between the Plant Ecology Research Lab (PERL) at the EPFL in Lausanne, 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. What role do trees play in human society? Are they seen as building materials, CO2 reservoirs or living beings? How are trees adapting to climate change? Can technology support this adaptation process? And what can humans learn from trees?

Featuring

Maja Renn

Maja Renn weaves movement, minimalist drawings and poetry into visual and performative narratives that playfully emphasise, shift and dissolve boundaries. Her often collaborative and transdisciplinary pieces take various forms, ranging from immersive dance productions and participatory movement sessions to intimate one-on-one rituals.
The artist’s performative installation Plasticity describes scientific findings on the property of phenotypic plasticity, i.e. the ability of organisms to form different shapes in response to environmental conditions.

Krzysztof Wronski

Copenhagen-based researcher, artist and designer Krzysztof Wronski creates research-based speculative works on social and environmental challenges.
His multimedia installations explore how living trees can be given expanded possibilities for action and abilities. The artist’s prototypes and interventions are designed to serve trees while questioning the relationships between humans and living organisms struggling with the climate crisis.

Plant Ecology Research Lab (PERL)

The research group PERL is investigating the ecological adaptation processes of plants under climatic stress. How do trees adapt to climate change? How does the adaptation process work, what does it take, how can it help? How can humans contribute to this adaptation process and what can we learn from trees in order to adapt? What could change in our perception of trees?