Installation
The Lost Prinstine, Memory of a
Vanishing Forest
NOWNESS ASIA PICK
Short Film | Animation | Digital Scan |
The Lost Pristine: Memory of a Vanishing Forest | NOWNESS
If a tree falls in a forest, but no one’s there to see it, does it make a sound? In The Lost Pristine: Memory of a Vanishing Forest, filmmaker and media artist Peggy Yu makes sure you see it, urging viewers to preserve nature and the memories it holds.
The film delves into the “complex and fragmented” memory of a forest in Dorset, UK, that was removed in 1950 for commercial development purposes. Yu describes the forest as “a protector” and “a place for prayer,” as well as a home to the Kodama (spirits that communicate with the forest). As a sacred space, the forest is irreplaceable. To erect a factory in its place is to forcefully alter the space beyond recognition.
“Today, the idea of a pure, pristine forest is lost forever, never to return to its robust and dynamic body”
The film features photogrammetry of the once lively organic environment, filled with “debris” like trees, flowers, grass, rocks, and animal traces. To do this, Yu uses Lidar technology, a tool originally meant for architectural surveying. The process allows 3D objects to be rendered into 2D projections, just as how flora and fauna were flattened into factories in Dorset.
The film’s experimental nature goes hand-in-hand with its environmental advocacy, a theme characteristic of Yu’s work. The ongoing ecological crisis has inspired the filmmaker to further collaborate with scientists, conservationists, and indigenous communities and create more works spanning film, photography, and installation focusing on humanity’s role in the loss of biodiversity.
Animator / Producor : Peiyao Yu