in memory forest, botanical installation artist lisa waud embodied the character of an artist tasked with recreating a forest from memory in a future where wooded habitats have vanished. the exhibition, inhabiting a 16,000 square foot building, embarked on an exploration of ecological consciousness, reshaping the familiar contours of nature through an assemblage of recycled materials. 

replicating the structure and topography of a forest with an array of unnatural, human-made elements sourced from the inventory of her former flower shop, lisa offered a narrative where the traditional essence of a woods is reconstructed into a dystopian technicolor dreamscape. evoking the deceptive allure of a tube of plastic wood's product description promise to "look and behave like real wood," this immersive installation served as both an ecological statement and a sensorial odyssey, transporting viewers into an alternate reality where the boundaries between the natural and the synthetic blur.

lisa imbued memory forest with a sense of fragmented remembrances and synthetic futures, inviting audiences to confront the impermanence of our ecological legacy. employing a steadfast policy of material reuse--with the hypocritical exception of paint and adhesives--she prompts reflection on the delicate balance between preservation and transformation.
through its fusion of organic forms and the unnatural fabrication, memory forest both fascinated and disconcerted, captivated and unsettled, and offered a nuanced exploration of humanity's environmental relationship and the evolving perception and value of nature.