What Does the Forest Say? 2022
adapation of lyrics and music, videospot, cardbord masks, performance, photographs

Supported by: Ministry of Culture of Slovenia, Kunstraum Memphis, Linz, KUD Obrat

What Does the Forest Say? adopts a “more-than-human” perspective on the world and draws attention to the viewpoint of other creatures. In the project, insects, mushrooms, grass, snakes and trees, along with humans, are all in the forest, where their roles and voices blend together to become the voice of the forest. Today, as the world struggles with climate change, the forest is becoming an ever more important ecosystem and serves as a classroom for us to understand inter-species communication. Through the involvement of all kinds of creatures in the basic everyday processes of dying, decay, germination, and growth, the forest fights against the extinction of all living things and so becomes a place of hope for our shared future.
The hit song “What Does the Fox Say?”, by the Norwegian duo Ylvis, which pays tribute to the fox, is the inspiration behind this new adaptation, which widens the focus to include other inhabitants of the forest and which shows the forest as a space of mutual dependence. In the project, people put on the masks of different forest creatures and imitate the sounds they make. This transformation allows us to view these other creatures as persons equal to humans. Through music, dance, and sound-making we all twirl together towards a just future for all species.

Participants: Klavdija Križ Potisk, Vid Potisk, Bor Potisk, Rawley Grau, Tilen Stepišnik, Tjaša Avsec, Todorovska, Lucija Ronja Nanjara, Zala Bilbija, Valentina Berente, Lejla Šetar Mihelcic, Manja Drenik Bucar, Mateja Kurir, Vida Novina Kurir, Mila Novina Kurir, Mateja Lovšin Heric, Tobi Tomažin

Video shooting and editing: TV Kocevje

foto: Petra Draškovic Pelc
: foto: Petra Draškovic Pelc