The woods that see and hear
30 May – 11 July 2010
dertien hectare’s 2010 exhibition is ‘The woods that see and hear’, curated by Sarah Farrar (NZ).
The exhibition responds to the immediate surroundings of dertien hectare, in the south of the Netherlands, an area that has gone through significant social, economic and ecological changes in recent decades. The exhibition takes place at two locations: at dertien hectare, a former farm that is now a regenerating forest area, and at the CBK ’s-Hertogenbosch, an art centre located in a former factory building in the city of ’s-Hertogenbosch.
As archaeologists demonstrate, we can learn a lot about a society by paying close attention to material remains and environmental data. The dertien hectare site captures many layers of history and provides an accurate record of human activity and changing values. ‘The woods that see and hear’ highlights the land as a living form of archaeology; it registers the impact of human migration, prosperity, technological developments, changing environmental values, governmental policy, commercial interests and the shifting boundaries of urban and rural areas.
Prompted by the dramatic change of land use at the dertien hectare site and its associated environmental impact, the exhibition addresses notions of sustainability, social responsibility, pollution and regeneration from a post-environmentalist approach. Where the historical environmental movement isolates the environment from other aspects of life, post-environmentalists contend that climate change and the ecological crises that we face today can only be addressed if we consider their intrinsic connection to wider social, political and economic forces. The exhibition connects the dertien hectare site to a former cigar factory in the city of ’s-Hertogenbosch, examining the near and far reaching consequences of industrial processes.
The title of the exhibition refers to a drawing in pen and bistre ink by Hieronymus Bosch (who lived in this specific region) depicting a small group of trees and grassland inhabited by an owl, a fox, some birds and, bizarrely, two disembodied ears and seven eyes. While this subject matter is usually explained as a precaution against spies and eavesdroppers, for 21st century viewers it is a reminder of our interrelationship with the natural world.
Using the two sites as a research terrain and platform, ‘The woods that see and hear’ exhibition aims to activate a conscious engagement with, and curiosity about, our relationship with the land and the world we occupy — as individuals, as members of a community, and as global citizens.
Eduardo Abaroa (MX) / Eve Armstrong (NZ) / Melanie Bonajo (NL), Kinga Kielczynska (PL) and Emmeline de Mooij (NL) / Marjolijn Dijkman (NL) / Bright Ugochukwu Eke (NG) / Tue Greenfort (DK) / Jonathan Horowitz (US) / Ives Maes (BE) / Tea Mäkipää (FI) / Nick Mangan (AU) / Heather and Ivan Morison (GB) / Overtreders W (NL).
