Quercus

A tree speaks to humans by reminding us what we have in common and what sets us apart. Are we the ones who have given shape to the forests or have the trees and their wood given shape to our world? Conceived as part of “Cambio”, a research project conducted by Studio Formafantasma on the macrodynamics that govern the timber industry, “Quercus” was produced by manipulating a Lidar scan of an oak forest in Virginia. Lidar technology uses lasers to scan and record large surface areas and has recently been adopted by the timber industry to selectively cut trees. In the film, it has been repurposed as a useful animation tool to consider humans from the perspective of trees. The voiceover is a monologue by philosopher and botanist Emanuele Coccia that questions the human inclination toward dominance over the planet, observing the degree to which humanity is dependent on the form and physicality of trees, as well as their indissoluble interconnection.