During the Park Poétik summer of 2021, art collective KNEPH created a living installation in Forest Park. Platform Poétik 2.0/Gryoo worked around five different trees. Like a fungus, the installation expanded into a poetic forest and depicted contemporary issues in an artistic way.
We zijn aangekomen bij de laatste boom: de oude Paardekastanje. Deze boom lijdt aan de kastanjebloedingsziekte en is stervende. Hij wordt daarom al een tijdje afgeschermd door dranghekken om wandelaars te beschermen. Park Poétik, KNEPH & Town of Forest want to give new life to a giant that is a historical witness and risks to disappear. That is why we are excited to work with artist Charles Djeumou.
Charles only works with dead trunks and sculps them to give them a new life. The tree does not look sick but is being eroded from the inside by the fungus. The branches still bear leaves. The trunk remains standing and can maybe lay down to allow new shoots to sprout.
The sculpture is a symbol of hope for the future. Because the preservation of nature is an absolute necessity for all mankind.
