Hall of Biodiversity – Ciência Viva Center / Botanical Garden of the University of Porto
Rewilding Time – an art experience and walk by Eternal Forest, Evgenia Emets at Jardim Botânico do Porto 2024
Audio Guide
- Introduction / Introdução
- The Moss and the Water Bear
(Hypnum cupressiforme Hedw. on the trunk of Yew, Taxus baccata) - The Early Earthly Arrivals
Tree Heather /Urze-branca Efémera (Erica arborea L.)
Hawthorn / Pilriteiro Intuitivo (Crataegus monogyna Jacq.)
Rock Rose / Estevinha Calmante (Cistus salviifolius L.)
Cherry / Cerejeira Afluente (Prunus avium (L.) L.)) - The Birch and the Renewal of Sacred Contract
(Betula celtiberica) - The Grandmother of Acorns, Galician Oak
(Quercus orocantabrica) - The Hazel and the Wisdom of Weaving worlds
(Corylus avellana L.) - The Hawthorn and the Medicine of the Wild
(Crataegus monogyna Jacq.) - The Oracle Tree
- The Cork Oak and The Relentless Protector, Ivy
(Quercus suber L. and Hedera helix L.) - Undying Architect, Yew
(Taxus baccata L.) - Ingenious Laurel and the mind of the forest
(Laurus nobilis L.) - The Holly and Returning the Gift
(Ilex aquifolium L.)
Film Rewilding Time
Exhibition
Rewilding Time
An Eternal Forest project
by Evgenia Emets
Exhibition 4-30 June
Hall of Biodiversity – Ciência Viva Center, Porto
Art Experience and Trail
Botanical Garden of the University of Porto
From the 4th to the 30th of June, the Natural History and Science Museum of the University of Porto hosts, in the Hall of Biodiversity – Ciência Viva Center the exhibition Rewilding Time, the latest addition to the ongoing artistic project Eternal Forest – creating 1,000 forest sanctuaries protected for 1,000 years – by artist and poet Evgenia Emets.
Rewilding Time shows an artist’s reflection on the forest ecosystems, their biodiversity, complexity, aptitude and the intrinsic value of the wild. The exhibition invites us to contemplate the story of a forest – from its intricate beginnings to its growth into a well-established ecosystem as an old-growth forest – through visual calligraphic artworks on canvas and paper, found forest materials turned into sculptural elements, mappings of the thought process and official nature conservation documents and maps and their artistic interpretation.
Today, the fundamental integrity of forests is under threat worldwide. There are only a few old-growth forests left, and they are increasingly scarce, especially in Portugal, where these ecosystems have a long history of alteration and fragmentation. Here, the small pockets of natural habitats struggle to support flourishing ecosystems, ensuring the survival of key and threatened plant and animal species that may reach the verge of extinction.
In Rewilding Time, the complexity and interconnectivity of the forest are revealed through an investigation of one particular habitat: the Galician-Portuguese oak woods, characterized by species such as Quercus orocantabrica and Quercus pyrenaica. This is a priority habitat for the Iberian wolf, which plays a crucial role in the health and equilibrium of the ecosystem. Thus, the forest is portrayed as an ongoing ecological process, marked by increasing and gradual complexity.
Exploring these perspectives, Rewilding Time spans several spaces: interconnecting the Botanical Garden of the University of Porto, two protected forest areas – Corno do Bico and Peneda Gerês National Park – and the Hall of Biodiversity. The Botanical Garden features a site-specific art trail and experience, based on artistic research in the protected forest areas. The installation at the Hall of Biodiversity, in turn, offers a deeper understanding of the interplay of forest organisms along with the film created in collaboration with Tiago Lobo. As a whole, Rewilding Time invites us to approach forest restoration and protection from a place of reverence, encouraging reflection on how we can live in reciprocity with the forest.
Rewilding Time was developed in collaboration with scientists and researchers from the Natural History and Science Museum of the University of Porto, in particular the Botanical Garden of the University of Porto, and BIOPOLIS-CIBIO forming a multidisciplinary practice, driven by recent scientific research in ecosystem restoration and protection.
Many heartfelt thanks to Carlos Vila-Viçosa, Francisco Álvares, Mariana Sottomayor, Helena Hespanhol, Cristiana Vieira, Iúri Frias, João Junqueira, Ana Campilho, Jorge Moreira, Rita Gaspar, João Tereso, Landra, Chad and Anastasia Brunette, Manuel Miranda Fernandes, Maria João Fonseca, Joana Tinoco, Teresa Matos Fernandes, Matilde Seabra, Landra, Maria Kruglyak and others.
The project hopes to continue with this cross-disciplinary collaboration by creating an Eternal Forest sanctuary in the North of Portugal.
Hall of Biodiversity – Ciência Viva Center
Tuesday to Sunday | 10h00 to 13h00 and 14h00 to 18h00 (last admission: 17h30)
Free entrance
28 June, 18.00-20.00 – Rewilding Time a conversation with the artist and scientists