DOUG BUIS

RIVERSIDE PARK

Tales in the Trees, is a video work, that will be projected onto a large tree in Riverside Park in Kamloops,  British Columbia. 

Tales in the Trees presents a conversation, primarily visual with some auditory components, between a campfire and a gust of wind, that takes place within a tree, in a popular public space. The project is based on theories of how trees communicate, with other trees, and sometimes other species and natural phenomena. Arboreal communication, for the most part has a chemical basis, with information transmitted through root systems,  dependent on soil types, geological formations and moisture content. Trees occasionally will use wind to scatter leaves and seeds to send messages, but these tend to be for long-term communication,  relying  on  the chemistry of decomposition or new growth.  Phenomena such as fire or wind can appear to communicate, to a limited degree, with trees, fire through chemical means, and wind through auditory vibrations (or the arboreal approximation of sound). However, some theories suggest that trees merely use these phenomena as  conduits for their own forms of expression. 

The narrative  follows memories of things witnessed and experienced by the tree (or memories borrowed from other trees), often concerning animal activities, migrations or interactions with other creatures.  As trees have quite different perceptions and concerns from us, our platform  for understanding the stories is limited and insubstantial.

Doug Buis
Tales in the Trees, 2016
Video installation
15 :00 min.

Photos: Devon Lindsay