If we’re making decisions about the value of nature, shouldn’t nature have a seat at the bargaining table? When the very first World Forum on Natural Capital took place in Edinburgh, the organizations who hosted it made clear their mission to put a price tag on nature. The Centre for Endless Growth was a direct response to this forum. The exhibition took the form of an “alternative” research center inside The University of Edinburgh’s TENT Gallery, giving nature’s growth cycle center stage.
Medium: leaves, soil, plants, a broken tree branch, office furniture
Location: TENT Gallery, Edinburgh, UK
Year: 2014
A tree and forest floor were installed in the middle of the space, and for one week, University faculty and the public were invited to use The Centre for Endless Growth as an open workspace for catalyzing more sane ways of thinking about how economic growth and nature’s growth can co-exist. The installation poses the question of how we might consider growth within the means of nature, rather than in spite of it as we so often tend to do. It also suggests that perhaps simply, habitually, putting ourselves in contact with nature can re-frame how a society thinks and acts in relation to it. The space was well-used during the week, and gathered many comments and insights from visitors.
Exhibition Dates
April 7 – 11, 2014
TENT Gallery
78 West Port, EH1 2LE
Edinburgh, UK
Visitor Ideas
All visitors were encouraged to leave their ideas. Responses were open, and could be anything from their general feelings, ideas, or inspirations while in the room, to reflections on their interaction with the forest installation. Below is a sampling of ideas and inspirations from visitors:
Images
Image Use Notes: All images are made available under creative commons licence (CC BY-SA 3.0) unless otherwise noted. Please attribute Patrick M. Lydon if using, and take care to observe the Creative Commons terms at the link above prior to using any images. Feel free to drop me a line to say hi if you are using the images.
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