HELT ØR I PLANTAGEN
BEWILDERED
A site-specific installation and interactive walk at Rø Plantation, Bornholm, Denmark, 2011.
Rø Plantation adapted from Google Maps
The name "Helt Ør i Plantagen" plays on the reversal of the letters in "Rø" to form "øR," which means bewildered, dazed, and confused.
This installation blurred the boundaries between indoor and outdoor, and culture and nature. Visitors were greeted in the forest VIP lounge by a doormat and two attendants who handed out entrance stickers.
After a brief walk through "The Forest of Kisses," participants followed a pink thread for approximately 1.5 km outside the main trails. Inspired by Troy labyrinths and the name "Rø," the route wound round and round, in and out, up and down, crossing and re-crossing in an attempt to offer a new way of perceiving the forest.
Satellite photos revealed that the forest was actually a series of monoculture plantations, far from true wilderness. However, the bewildered way of walking aimed to make both the walkers and the plantation go wilder.
The journey concluded with a celebration hosted by the House of Wild Wood Woman in a charming little alderwood glade inside a pine forest.
This project was partly funded and conducted in collaboration with the Danish Nature Agency and NaturBornholm (with thanks to nature guide Jane Nymann Johansen).