Pia Rönicke, Word for Forest, 2018

Word for Forest was filmed in The Botanical Garden Copenhagen Santiago Comaltepec Sierra Norte de Oaxaca In collaboration with Parallel / Oaxaca Oliver Martínez Kandt / Filmed by Matilda Mester- Pia Rönicke
Colorgrading Matilda Mester
Re-recording mixer Jochen Jezussek
Assistance Felipe Hernández, Bruno Varela, Fernando Guadarrama
A film by Pia Rönicke
Supported by Danish Arts Foundation

Digitalized 16mm film, sound
Duration: 22.30 min
Edition 2/ 3 + 1 AP

Word for Forest is a cinematic journey that travels from the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen to Santiago Comaltepec in the mountains
of Oaxaca. The film records a seed’s displacement from Mexico, where it was collected by the botanist Frederik Liebmann in 1842, to the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen. The film returns to the plant’s original home, the unique habitat of the cloud forest. The cloud forest in this region has an exceptionally high biodiversity, where specific oaks and pines grow side by side with a rich plant life that is not found anywhere else. In Santiago Comaltepec, the forest is taken care of by the community, which has long resided in this area, but has not always had the right to use the land. Both the Spanish colonial empire and the Mexican state have previously demanded control over the forest. In the 1980s, the community fought for the forest’s rights. Through ‘comunalidad’, the forest became common land and only the naturally fallen wood can be logged. The film follows the voice of the forest guide Don Felipe, as he talks about the forest in both the local language Chinantec and Spanish. The film invites one to listen to the rhythms of the language and the sounds of the forest and to absorb the variations in the many ferns. It beckons the view to enter a universe that might show an alternative to the path of destruction that we are currently on.

Pia Rönicke, Word for Forest, 2018

Still

Digitalized 16mm film, sound
Duration: 22.30 min
Edition 2/ 3 + 1 AP

Word for Forest is a cinematic journey that travels from the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen to Santiago Comaltepec in the mountains
of Oaxaca. The film records a seed’s displacement from Mexico, where it was collected by the botanist Frederik Liebmann in 1842, to the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen. The film returns to the plant’s original home, the unique habitat of the cloud forest. The cloud forest in this region has an exceptionally high biodiversity, where specific oaks and pines grow side by side with a rich plant life that is not found anywhere else. In Santiago Comaltepec, the forest is taken care of by the community, which has long resided in this area, but has not always had the right to use the land. Both the Spanish colonial empire and the Mexican state have previously demanded control over the forest. In the 1980s, the community fought for the forest’s rights. Through ‘comunalidad’, the forest became common land and only the naturally fallen wood can be logged. The film follows the voice of the forest guide Don Felipe, as he talks about the forest in both the local language Chinantec and Spanish. The film invites one to listen to the rhythms of the language and the sounds of the forest and to absorb the variations in the many ferns. It beckons the view to enter a universe that might show an alternative to the path of destruction that we are currently on.

Pia Rönicke, Word for Forest, 2018

Exhibition view, Word for Forest, Parallel Oaxaca, Oaxaca, 2019

Digitalized 16mm film, sound
Duration: 22.30 min
Edition 2/ 3 + 1 AP

Word for Forest is a cinematic journey that travels from the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen to Santiago Comaltepec in the mountains
of Oaxaca. The film records a seed’s displacement from Mexico, where it was collected by the botanist Frederik Liebmann in 1842, to the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen. The film returns to the plant’s original home, the unique habitat of the cloud forest. The cloud forest in this region has an exceptionally high biodiversity, where specific oaks and pines grow side by side with a rich plant life that is not found anywhere else. In Santiago Comaltepec, the forest is taken care of by the community, which has long resided in this area, but has not always had the right to use the land. Both the Spanish colonial empire and the Mexican state have previously demanded control over the forest. In the 1980s, the community fought for the forest’s rights. Through ‘comunalidad’, the forest became common land and only the naturally fallen wood can be logged. The film follows the voice of the forest guide Don Felipe, as he talks about the forest in both the local language Chinantec and Spanish. The film invites one to listen to the rhythms of the language and the sounds of the forest and to absorb the variations in the many ferns. It beckons the view to enter a universe that might show an alternative to the path of destruction that we are currently on.

Pia Rönicke, Word for Forest, 2018

Exhibition view, Word for Forest, Parallel Oaxaca, Oaxaca, 2019

Digitalized 16mm film, sound
Duration: 22.30 min
Edition 2/ 3 + 1 AP

Word for Forest is a cinematic journey that travels from the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen to Santiago Comaltepec in the mountains
of Oaxaca. The film records a seed’s displacement from Mexico, where it was collected by the botanist Frederik Liebmann in 1842, to the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen. The film returns to the plant’s original home, the unique habitat of the cloud forest. The cloud forest in this region has an exceptionally high biodiversity, where specific oaks and pines grow side by side with a rich plant life that is not found anywhere else. In Santiago Comaltepec, the forest is taken care of by the community, which has long resided in this area, but has not always had the right to use the land. Both the Spanish colonial empire and the Mexican state have previously demanded control over the forest. In the 1980s, the community fought for the forest’s rights. Through ‘comunalidad’, the forest became common land and only the naturally fallen wood can be logged. The film follows the voice of the forest guide Don Felipe, as he talks about the forest in both the local language Chinantec and Spanish. The film invites one to listen to the rhythms of the language and the sounds of the forest and to absorb the variations in the many ferns. It beckons the view to enter a universe that might show an alternative to the path of destruction that we are currently on.

Pia Rönicke, Word for Forest, 2018

Exhibition detail, Word for Forest, Parallel Oaxaca, Oaxaca, 2019

Digitalized 16mm film, sound
Duration: 22.30 min
Edition 2/ 3 + 1 AP

Word for Forest is a cinematic journey that travels from the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen to Santiago Comaltepec in the mountains
of Oaxaca. The film records a seed’s displacement from Mexico, where it was collected by the botanist Frederik Liebmann in 1842, to the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen. The film returns to the plant’s original home, the unique habitat of the cloud forest. The cloud forest in this region has an exceptionally high biodiversity, where specific oaks and pines grow side by side with a rich plant life that is not found anywhere else. In Santiago Comaltepec, the forest is taken care of by the community, which has long resided in this area, but has not always had the right to use the land. Both the Spanish colonial empire and the Mexican state have previously demanded control over the forest. In the 1980s, the community fought for the forest’s rights. Through ‘comunalidad’, the forest became common land and only the naturally fallen wood can be logged. The film follows the voice of the forest guide Don Felipe, as he talks about the forest in both the local language Chinantec and Spanish. The film invites one to listen to the rhythms of the language and the sounds of the forest and to absorb the variations in the many ferns. It beckons the view to enter a universe that might show an alternative to the path of destruction that we are currently on.

Pia Rönicke, Word for Forest, 2018

Still

Digitalized 16mm film, sound
Duration: 22.30 min
Edition 2/ 3 + 1 AP

Word for Forest is a cinematic journey that travels from the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen to Santiago Comaltepec in the mountains
of Oaxaca. The film records a seed’s displacement from Mexico, where it was collected by the botanist Frederik Liebmann in 1842, to the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen. The film returns to the plant’s original home, the unique habitat of the cloud forest. The cloud forest in this region has an exceptionally high biodiversity, where specific oaks and pines grow side by side with a rich plant life that is not found anywhere else. In Santiago Comaltepec, the forest is taken care of by the community, which has long resided in this area, but has not always had the right to use the land. Both the Spanish colonial empire and the Mexican state have previously demanded control over the forest. In the 1980s, the community fought for the forest’s rights. Through ‘comunalidad’, the forest became common land and only the naturally fallen wood can be logged. The film follows the voice of the forest guide Don Felipe, as he talks about the forest in both the local language Chinantec and Spanish. The film invites one to listen to the rhythms of the language and the sounds of the forest and to absorb the variations in the many ferns. It beckons the view to enter a universe that might show an alternative to the path of destruction that we are currently on.

Pia Rönicke, Word for Forest, 2018

Still

Digitalized 16mm film, sound
Duration: 22.30 min
Edition 2/ 3 + 1 AP

Word for Forest is a cinematic journey that travels from the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen to Santiago Comaltepec in the mountains
of Oaxaca. The film records a seed’s displacement from Mexico, where it was collected by the botanist Frederik Liebmann in 1842, to the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen. The film returns to the plant’s original home, the unique habitat of the cloud forest. The cloud forest in this region has an exceptionally high biodiversity, where specific oaks and pines grow side by side with a rich plant life that is not found anywhere else. In Santiago Comaltepec, the forest is taken care of by the community, which has long resided in this area, but has not always had the right to use the land. Both the Spanish colonial empire and the Mexican state have previously demanded control over the forest. In the 1980s, the community fought for the forest’s rights. Through ‘comunalidad’, the forest became common land and only the naturally fallen wood can be logged. The film follows the voice of the forest guide Don Felipe, as he talks about the forest in both the local language Chinantec and Spanish. The film invites one to listen to the rhythms of the language and the sounds of the forest and to absorb the variations in the many ferns. It beckons the view to enter a universe that might show an alternative to the path of destruction that we are currently on.

Pia Rönicke, Word for Forest, 2018

Still

Digitalized 16mm film, sound
Duration: 22.30 min
Edition 2/ 3 + 1 AP

Word for Forest is a cinematic journey that travels from the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen to Santiago Comaltepec in the mountains
of Oaxaca. The film records a seed’s displacement from Mexico, where it was collected by the botanist Frederik Liebmann in 1842, to the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen. The film returns to the plant’s original home, the unique habitat of the cloud forest. The cloud forest in this region has an exceptionally high biodiversity, where specific oaks and pines grow side by side with a rich plant life that is not found anywhere else. In Santiago Comaltepec, the forest is taken care of by the community, which has long resided in this area, but has not always had the right to use the land. Both the Spanish colonial empire and the Mexican state have previously demanded control over the forest. In the 1980s, the community fought for the forest’s rights. Through ‘comunalidad’, the forest became common land and only the naturally fallen wood can be logged. The film follows the voice of the forest guide Don Felipe, as he talks about the forest in both the local language Chinantec and Spanish. The film invites one to listen to the rhythms of the language and the sounds of the forest and to absorb the variations in the many ferns. It beckons the view to enter a universe that might show an alternative to the path of destruction that we are currently on.