There Will Be No Other Forest

Bialowieza, Poland, is the largest remaining area of ancient forest in Europe, with an irreplaceable ecology that is home to many rare and unique wildlife species. Recently it has been threatened by increased logging; the policy of the current Polish government, now declared illegal by the European Court. The controversy around this has created intense debate, which gives the context to this work.

Peter Cusack and Martyna Poznansk’s installation ‘There Will Be No Other Forest’ aims to contribute to the discussion through a combination of sonic documentation and the more poetic approaches of sensing and experiencing the territory. The sound and field recordings from Bialowieza are complemented by video, photography and text. Attention is given to small and intimate relationships within the ecology itself, to the overall atmospheres present there and to connections between people and the forest. The micro sounds of bark beetles inside trees and the subtle visual patterns created by insects and fungi are explored.
The impact of the logging is also seen and heard. Martyna Poznanska’s video ‘My Body Is the Forest, The Forest Is My Body’ suggests associations between human and forest forms as well as the transience of existence.

The installation hopes, not only to give exposure to the political/environmental issues, but also to illuminate a little of the hidden life at Bialowieza and on the human decisions that directly impact the forest.

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