The Burnt Forest

The theme of this year's workshop was (land)scape/paisagens. Portugal is a country wracked by wild fires, and Gois is a region that was particularly impacted this year. When Beatriz and Filipe visited in April to plan the residency, they met George and Christine, two British artists who have a beautiful home in the hills outside Gois. During the recent wildfires, one of their barns had been burnt to the ground, and only due to the efforts of their neighbors was their house spared. Everything around was naught but blackened ash. It created an effecting vision, and both Beatriz and Filipe were keen to show this year's participants how the land was recovering.

So on our second day together, we left early in the morning to avoid the afternoon heat, and headed out to the hills. We carried a picnic breakfast with us, and with the instruction to remain silent until we reached our destination, we started hiking up, stopping to take pictures and record sounds as we went. Breakfast awaited us at the stones overlooking the valley, beneath which was also a little cave. We explored a little, and climbed about, but by 10:30am it was already becoming deadly hot, so we quickly headed back to Bordeiro.

Though not a long trip, I think the landscape had a definite impact on everyone. Sonya collected ash from the bark of the burnt trees, which would become an important material in her work. Josh Geffin wrote two pieces inspired by the walk, including Horizon in collaboration with myself, and No Hard Feelings in collaboration with Jorge Salgado for Andrei Argaetic's sculpture. Berfin and Jason's composition Cycle of Life was also inspired by seeing how nature recovered despite the devastation.

Visits like this are important for helping situate the artist in a new place. When we enter unfamiliar territory and have the chance to explore, our creativity immediately awakens via our innate curiosity. By merely opening our senses to new sights and new sounds (hint. Other Lands Other Sounds), we begin to make new connections in our brains, and new ideas begin to take flight.