Private View 18:00 - 21:00 + Live Performance 19:20-20:00 October 27th
From the 27th October to the 13th November at The Muse Gallery, Nadia Nervo will be launching an immersive exhibition inspired by nature; exploring the symbiosis of humans and forest trees.
The photographic series Dancing with Trees catalogues responses to trees using 120mm film photography. Through Nervo’s intimate lens, the artist provides a window to an ethereal connection with nature. The exhibition will feature a soundscape composed by musician and composer Suting Han. Scents of the forest floor and pine will linger amongst a collection of natural items collected from Nervo’s travels. The project is inspired by Nervo’s relationship with forests; growing up with trees, amongst the hills and mountains of northern Italy — she continues to find solace in the natural world.
Interacting with trees has many positive health benefits. Being in forests and simply sitting looking at trees reduces blood pressure and stress. Long before the industrial revolution and advent of modern science, Shamanism practices sought spiritual awakenings and holistic purposes from trees. Dancing among the trees was thought to increase vitality and spiritual awareness. In the exhibition Dancing with Trees, Nadia Nervo invites you to experience the ethereal qualities of trees - using sound, scent and series of analogue photography.
Through this project, visitors will experience the power of nature and the positive introspection that ensues. Nervo is keen for audiences to embark in their own response to trees, whatever shape or form it may take. In the photographic series, participants responded to tree’s in the forest through dance and movement. As one describes: ‘To run my fingers through dried moss, climb freely amongst the trees, be embraced by the branches as my limbs folded into their grasp was something special. I was able to absorb the curves of the trees with endless trailing bark and ridges and really appreciate nature, to mould my own being with theirs.’Nervo invites the viewer to do the same.
Locations featured in the exhibition include Wimbledon Common, Esher, Highgate Woods, Hainault Forest, Epping Forest, Hampstead Heath, Richmond and Hyde Park. Contributors include performer and artist Yuliya V Krylova and musician and composer Suting Han, who have both created work in response to the exhibition themes, images, and movements.