Using 299 trees, some of which weigh up to six tonnes, landscape architect Enzo Enea covered the entire playing field with a mixed forest characteristic of Central Europe.
From the grandstands, visitors could admire the spectacle of the trees day and night (from 10am until 10pm). Admission was free. A sight that was as unfamiliar as it was fascinating and stirred up a range of emotions and reactions! Depending on the time of day (or night), the trees constituted a constantly changing landscape that was shaped by the weather as well as the autumnal turning of the leaves. The installation was a clever play on our emotions when faced with what should be a familiar sight, placed in an entirely different context. With this monumental work of art, Littmann challenged our perception of nature and sharpend our awareness of the future relation between nature and humankind.
The project also sees itself as a warning: One day, we might have to admire the remnants of nature in specially assigned spaces, as is already the case with zoo animals.
THE STORY BEHIND FOR FOREST
Klaus Littmann’s Idea: The project was initiated by the artist and international contemporary art mediator Klaus Littmann. Klaus Littmann first saw the pencil drawing “The Unending Attraction of Nature”, by Max Peintner (born 1937), over 30 years ago, and has since held on to the idea of turning this striking dystopia into a reality.