This Italian Tree Battery Is Europe’s Biggest Piece of Art
In our modern, largely self-serving society, it is easy to be distracted away from real-world issues that are progressively spiraling out of control. A conceptual organization called Incipit is taking tangible action to encourage collective lifestyle changes through artistic collaborations.
One of their projects, along with Spanish artist Escif, is called Breath, and is currently engaging the masses by inciting environmental change via an alternative medium: inspiring people to shift their collective thinking in a direction that will help the Earth, one tree at a time.
Escif is known for approaching art with various concepts in mind, including environmental issues and social movements, so he is a perfect collaborator for this concept. The Breath project will plant trees to fight deforestation, progressively balancing the Earth and protecting the environment.
Their first initiative is to reforest Mount Olivella in Southern Italy – manifesting a global consciousness and sending a message to the world – written with 5,000 trees. The project’s scope includes a process curated by Escif, which is a battery depicting energy cycles that follow the rhythms of time and Earth, while always regenerating itself.
Of the 5,000 trees, there will be 2,500 Holk Oaks, a Mediterranean evergreen tree that is climate resilient and will form the external structure of the project, visible throughout the year. The other 2,500 trees will be made up of Maples, a dense, deciduous tree made up of spherical foliage, that will inhabit the internal structure, changing shape and color according to the seasons.
All in all, the art piece will cover a surface of 120,000 square meters – almost the size of 17 football fields. The first phase of the tree planting is scheduled for September 2017. Once all the trees are planted, the Breath project will in turn revive Mount Olivella, infusing new life to the mountain, and with it, sending a viable, artistic and meaningful message to everyone who sees it.
