Forest of Things

Forest of Things is an audiovisual fairytale by Manuel Tozzi from 2021. For the online exhibition the work is staged in a computer-generated multiplayer environment.

With the sound of birds and water flowing by, the forest of things pretends to be an ecological system rather than uncovering its technological nature. Only one wooden fence, the boundary between the wild forest and the domesticated fields, disturbs the illusion. As it starts moving autonomously, it stops performing its programmed functions. Suddenly it reveals a letter of the alphabet, a hint of its algorithmic system. Because the letter x is used to signify the unknown, the underlying motives in the forest emerge.

As the visitors wander through the space they encounter four characters, who have secluded themselves in the secureness of the thicket. Awakened from their delusions by the miraculous transformation of the fence, they begin to share their concerns about the simulation of nature and the ever-leaking barricades of culture.

Built by Manuel Tozzi & Anton Krümpelmann
Music by Moritz Scharf