silent forest is the first chapter of the ec(h)o series, a series of experimental films, installations and cinematic meditations that document and explore our often tumultuous and strained relationship with the landscape. silent forest is a non-narrative reflection that explores the aural phenomenon of spaces in flux. The project examines the delicate wetland environment in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain and the industrial and commercial enterprises surrounding it. The project is an observation of the oscillating environment between the natural and designed, presence and absence, reality and fiction, life and death.
The raw material for the work came together over several filming expeditions into the region, filming in the wetlands, cypress swamps, lowlands, and rivers. The project’s sounds were captured in these landscapes and in active industrial spaces, transportation routes, and development sites. The work exists as a single channel film with ambisonic score and a physical installation. The physical aspect of the work is comprised of a 22’ x 12’ screen and a 22’ x 17’ reflection made from mill scale.
*Mill scale — A granular industrial byproduct of the steel making process, an industry that is directly connected to the Mississippi Alluvial Plain.