I'll SEE
YOU
IN THE TREES
collectively developed, collaborative, multi-layered and multidisciplinary work
Year: 2022 - ongoing
1-4-channel video with sound
Entire-wall projections.
A surround space installation.
Each video duration: 40 sec on a loop
Sound length: 29:31 min on a loop
(As a single video: length 4:25 min)
The resolution available in UHD and HD definition, with the aspect ratio 16:9 and 4:3
Technical support required:
1 - 4projectors, media reader
1 - 4 speakers (sound surround system).
With collaboration with curators, this work could be displayed in other ways.
#collective #trees #forest #workshops #meditation #self-awareness #practice-empathy #connecting-with-nature
#drawing #nature #digitalisation #video-installation #animation #nature-sound-recording
Work will be further developed into
3D Virtual experience
Inspired by Angelo Badalamenti and David K. Lynch's song 'Sycamore Trees', work 'I'll See You In the Trees' is a comparative study of people and trees, which explores humanity and its complexities within the context of nature, thus forging a path to self-realisation. To convey dynamic connectivity, which neutralizes bias while initiating empathy and compassion, participants were asked to illustrate their innermost selves while considering the anatomical attributes of trees. These deep personal insights, which the artist has forested into a collective plantation of 110 curated selves/trees, offer viewers a truly polyphonic experience. Re-establishing this symbiotic connection is an attempt at saving trees and people simultaneously, since both are under threat.
While the drawings originate from participants, the final composition of the forest is determined by the artist. Each tree is “replanted” according to a subjective and intuitive decision, shaping the ecosystem of the installation. This act introduces a critical layer that questions authorship, agency, and the invisible structures that organize collective existence. Who decides where we belong? How are individual identities repositioned within broader systems? The forest appears communal, yet its ecology is constructed — revealing subtle tensions between participation and control, care and governance.
The work resonates strongly within contemporary contexts in which trees and public green spaces are continuously sacrificed in the name of progress and urban development. In cities such as Belgrade, ongoing struggles to prevent the cutting of parks and mature trees reflect a broader global conflict between ecological preservation and political or economic ambition. In Cyprus, almost every summer during the dry months, forests burn due to human negligence and mismanagement. In this light, the project becomes not only a poetic reconnection with nature, but also a quiet form of resistance — a reminder that both trees and people are vulnerable to imposed restructuring, displacement, and erasure.
The installation is conceived as a surround-space environment, with animated audio-video projections illuminating a darkened gallery through four projectors. Immense trees envelop the walls, accompanied by subtle animations of foliage moving in the breeze and layered forest sounds, creating the illusion of stepping into a living woodland. Benches invite visitors to slow down, remain present, and immerse themselves mindfully in the space.
Every half hour, however, the soundscape shifts abruptly. The peaceful atmosphere is disrupted by the repetitive impact of an axe, escalating into the aggressive noise of chainsaws and the roar of fire consuming the forest. The visual calm remains unchanged while the sound intensifies, creating a dissonance that mirrors our contemporary condition — where destruction often advances beneath the surface of apparent normality, often justified as necessity or development.
The foundational phase of the project, developed over four years and still ongoing, consists of the We, Trees workshops, led by Nina Sumarac in collaboration with a local performing artist. Through observation, movement, and drawing practices modelled on the life of trees, participants are encouraged to reengage with nature and reflect on their interconnectedness. This synthesis addresses the growing human–nature disconnect intensified by urbanisation, digital mediation, and global crisis.
The artwork continues to evolve, opening space for further exploration of narrative, voice, and the fragile balance between collective belonging and imposed order — and, above all, a renewed alliance between humans and trees.
Workshops We, Trees:
Nina Sumarac, Elena Gavriel
Albina Davliatshina, Aleksandra Constantinides, Alex Welch, Andriana Nicolaou, Anna Kucherova, Antoniadou Christothea, Artemis Evlogimenou, Atos Hgeorgiou, Bee Brigitte Davies, Bonnie Chui, Bryan Clarkson, Camille Legeleux, Christine Keeble Watson, Constandinos & Tania Stavrinides, Constanitina Charalambous, Constantinos Panayides, Diana Miljuš, Eliza Patouris, Elli Papaloucas, Emilija Šumarac, Eugenia Francesca Soncini, Evis Michaelides, Farzanah Kirkup, Frosoulla Kofterou, Gabriella Norman Savva, George Nikolaou, Giovannie Presutti, Helen Savva, Heli Mangel, Irene Pavlou, Irina Buharova, Janette Charalambous, Jelena Vasić, Jen Brewster, Jesper Skov, Jessica C Vayianou, Joanna Hemingway, Julie Bond, June Doyle, Karolina Domaracka, Katie Sabry, Kiara Timm, Lavan Jeyarupalingam, Lia Petrodou, Liliana Jakovljevic Stavri, Liliy Zachariou, Lubka Mlčúchová, Maria Marcou, Maria Pavlou, Maria Schwarz Demetriou, Marija Reljić, Marinos Savva, Miki Fujiwara Pentecost, Minja Šumarac, Mirjana Miščević, Nailya Tavkaeva, Natalia Volshendorf, Natasa Katsiari, Navid Gholipour, Nearchos Ioannou, Negin Ehtesabian, Nikolas Constantinides, Nina Sumarac Jablonsky, Ola Hikari, Olga Alexeeva, Olivera Vulović Nikolou, Pamela Calver, Patricia Hitchen, Penny Zenonos, Peter Lammiman, Polydora Pericleous-Kakoulli, Rania Iakovou, Rozali Dobra, Salima Toumi, Sasha Morozova, Suzana Phialas, Silvia Brierley, Stephanie Petrou, Tania Pirilidou, Tatiana Ferahian, Tatjana Vidović, Tess Turner, Toulla Christou, Viktoria Vika, Vladimir Jablonsky, Zorica Popović, Zoritsa Mladenović and fifteen unknown contributors.
Digital Afforestation: Nina Sumarac
Animation and video editing / Motion research - collaboration:
Marinos Savva / Nicos Synnos - Lab for Animation Research (LAR) Department of the Fine Arts, Cyprus University of Technology. The Lab for Animation Research (LAR) operates as a research centre for studying art animation. Specifically, LAR operates as a lab within the Department of Fine Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology that aims to study the artistic possibilities of animation. LAR uses a wide range of digital and “traditional” technologies and artistic practices to experiment, research and develop innovative modes of creating animation artworks.
Sound recording and composition: Dimitris Savva. Recorded in Troodos Forest, Cyprus.
Sound: 'Studena, Klana, Croatia' by Wild_Rumpus. Creative Commons License (CC BY-SA 3.0). Recorded by Ivo Vicic in May at 8:36 am, Studena Woodlands, Croatia. Temp: 16C.
Workshop "We Trees": Nina Sumarac in collaboration with Elena Gavriel, a professional dance artist, teacher and yoga instructor.
Photography: Constantinos Panayides
Text: Dr Frosoulla Kofterou
Production Funding: Eugenia Francesca Soncini
Lab for Animation Research (LAR) Department of the Fine Arts,
Cyprus University of Technology
Links:
https://www.ninasumarac.com/illseeyouinthetrees
https://sites.google.com/view/ninasumaracillseeyouinthetrees/work;
Videos and sound:
1st channel (video with the sound, sample) https://youtu.be/wJ3-M-rAnQ0
2ndchannel - “- https://youtu.be/tWwVRFJjU2s
3rd channel - “- https://youtu.be/Dg_lyJa4er8
4th channel - “- https://youtu.be/p26k_a_kjdE
sound sample https://youtu.be/da0-vmVy1Wc
or
as one channel video: https://youtu.be/E2_qnxOFFWA
More:
The Contributors’ Drawings Video: https://youtu.be/-rEdXjst_UY
Video short about the process: https://youtu.be/GVWRzmKIg3g
At the exhibition The Forest at NeMe Arts Centre, Limassol 2022: https://youtu.be/jgmh82lNsrM
Exhibitions:
2022 exhibition The FOREST by the Arboreal Collective, hosted by NeMe Arts Centre, 25/02 - 11/03/2022.
https://sites.google.com/view/theforestbyarborealcollective/home, https://www.neme.org/projects/hosted/the-forest
2022 1st prize award and a solo exhibition at The Cultural Institution Associação Estação Viva, Canelas-Estarreja, Portugal.
2022 Forest and Life Geumgang Nature Art Biennale, organised by YATOO, Gongju-si, South Korea
2022 TERRA Espacio Gallery. Curator Judit Prieto. London
2022 Rare Effect led by Arroz Estúdios & Art Progression Now, Lisbon, Portugal
2022 Imagine Futures, Puntomov, Festival de Videoarte de la Facultad de Artes, Autonomous University of Mexico State UAEMEX
2022 Ikono TV, screening at COP27, the Conference of the Parties (COP), organised by the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt
2022 Art and Society, Ecology as a Collective Sculpture, The International Performance Art Festival for Ecology and Sustainable Development, Cameroon.
Artistic Director Raphaël Christian Etongo. Yaoundé, Cameroon
2023 The LAR Chronicles: Radical Domains of Anima, Lab for Animation Research CUT, NeMe Arts Centre, Limassol
2023 Ties That Cannot Be Unbound, Underground Art And Design (UAAD) and New Art City online gallery. Curator Zhi Ye & Xiaofan (Amy) Jiang, New York
2023 Spring Exhibition "THE END OF CAPITALISM: Point of Goodbye" Art Pavilion "Cvijeta Zuzorić", Belgrade
2024 RE: SOURCE 2.0, Artnow, The Warehouse by ITQuarter, Limassol
2024 Kre: Pí festival 2024 @ CK Záhrada, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia +workshop
2025 TRANSFORMATION | Exhibition of the residency program Schafhof – Europäisches Kunstforum Oberbayern, Freising, Germany
Published in:
LandEscape magazine Biennale edition 2022
Book Estação project publisher TRAMA BODOQUE Artes e Ofícios represented by Frederico Lopes Oliveira, Portugal, 2023
"A need to do the work about forests and trees stems from my childhood fascination with trees. Hugging and “talking with” trees grounded me in their fundamental essence. I could see myself in them and vice versa." Nina Sumarac
The images of drawings of Trees, which are incorporated in the final composition, are produced at the priorly organized workshops.
THE WORKSHOP
The workshop ‘We Trees’ has two parts.
The first part of the workshop is done in collaboration with dance performing artist and yoga teacher Elena Gavriel. Elena guides participants using various meditation practices that focus on movement, breathwork and mindfulness, to play up the parallels between their own lives and how trees live in the context of natural elements. This synthesis aims to bridge our growing disconnect from nature, resulting in most recently from the pandemic, the virtual world and urbanization by bringing the senses back into balance.
In the second part of the workshops, Nina built on the perspectives developed in part one by asking participants to illustrate their innermost selves while considering the anatomical attributes of trees. For the drawings is used paper, burned wood and branches as an extension of human hands.
Through the whole process, the artist has aimed to encourage people to reengage with nature through practices that inspire reflection, imagination and channelling, modelled on the life of trees, by "transplanting" participants into the oldest community of beings, amplifying new pathways of thinking, being and communicating via the technological lens that has become our ‘new normal.
Eugenia Francesca Soncini
Most Special thanks to:
all those who contributed their drawings, Nicos Synnos and Eugenia Francesca Soncini for their belief and support.
Production Funding: Eugenia Francesca Soncini, Italy
Support/colaboration: Lab for Animation Research (LAR) Department of the Fine Arts, Cyprus University of Technology.
Further development of this project, which includes exploring the use of new media: (Augmented Reality, 3D Video Projection Mapping for Surround space Installation and 3D Virtual experience) is in the working process, with no yet specified date of finalisation.
We are open and more than grateful for offers for collaborations and production support in the realization of this mega-size project. Please contact us at ninasumaracjablonsky@gmail.com.
Thank you. Nina Sumarac and Arboreal Collective
More about the project and process of working:
Contributors' tree drawings.
The animation.
The sound.
Installation and presentation.
Workshops.
and Links to Further Reading.
Arboreal Collective and
The FOREST project.