Es Devlin
Forest for Change
Es Devlin, Forest for Change designer and Artistic Director of the Biennale, was told that trees had been forbidden from the courtyard at Somerset House when the building was originally conceived 250 years ago. When designing the pavilion for the 2021 London Design Biennale, Es decided to “counter this attitude of human dominance over nature, by allowing a forest to overtake the entire courtyard.” In subverting the rules of Somerset House’s Enlightenment-era designers, Es and her team considered the transformational nature of forests in literature to create a place of real change: “The UN Global Goals offer us clear ways to engage and alter our behaviour and it is our hope that an interaction with the Goals in the forest will be transformative."
Bringing trees into the courtyard at Somerset House for the first time was a bold statement that mirrored the audacious nature of the Global Goals – an ambitious plan agreed to by all nations to create a better and fairer world for all by 2030. The Forest was created from 400 juvenile trees consisting of a diverse range of 27 nursery grown species which were selected with the aim of ensuring future resilience to the changing London environment. As visitors walked through Forest for Change, their journey was enhanced by the sound of birdsong, curated by Brian Eno, including recordings from the British Library Sound Archive.
At the heart of the Forest, a central clearing revealed a pavilion consisting of 17 mirrored pillars, representing the Global Goals. They were brought to life through inspiring quotes and facts about the world we live in.
At the end of their journey – at the 17th pillar representing Partnerships for the Goals – visitors were invited to choose the Goal they felt most passionate about and to record a short message expressing the change they wish to see in the world. This message was instantly added to a generative music installation that was played back in the central clearing. Their contribution became part of ‘Voices for Change’, a collaboration with the Google Arts & Culture Lab that brought together the voices and passions of people from across the world in support of the Global Goals.
At the end of the Biennale, the trees were donated to London boroughs of Southwark and Islington as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy, a unique tree planting initiative which encourages everyone to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee”.
Images courtesy of Ed Reeve