Until 29 December 2024, Abu Dhabi’s 421 Arts Campus is hosting Way of the Forest, the 2nd travelling edition of the Colomboscope Arts Festival, originally showcased in Colombo, Sri Lanka). The show, which features 19 artists from the Global South, is curated by Natasha Ginwala (Art Director, Colomboscope), Vidhi Todi (Assistant Curator, Colomboscope 2024), and artists Hit Man Gurung, Sarker Protick, and Sheelasha Rajbhandari. Through a diverse array of artworks, the exhibition delves into ecological histories, challenging traditional narratives about environmental stewardship and exploitation while prompting visitors to reconsider humanity’s relationship with nature.
In mythologies and folklore, forests are often portrayed as mystical realms inhabited by powerful, independent beings. At the same time, they are feared for their untamed and mysterious qualities. The rise of imperialism brought intensified exploitation of natural resources, displacement of Indigenous peoples, and the domination of forests as symbols of unruliness subdued by human control.
The artists in the Way of the Forest reimagine the forest as a site of learning, emphasizing mutual aid, balance, and coexistence. Against the backdrop of rapidly changing landscapes threatened by human recklessness, they explore urgent questions: Who owns forest lands? Who is displaced? Who is barred from spaces designated for conservation?
In the exhibition, one can see works by Jayatu Chakma, a Bangladeshi artist from the Indigenous Chakma community, whose work reflects his cultural heritage and the challenges of displacement. His textile series, Story of the Grey Hills (2022–2023), portrays the development-driven transformation of the Lusai community’s ancestral lands, sewing images of smokestacks and bulldozers onto traditional garments.
Hailing from Tashkent, Saodat Ismailova examines the erosion of Uzbek cultural traditions under successive regimes. Her video installation, Arslanbob (2023), focuses on a walnut forest, blending myths and rituals with scenes of daily life.
Artist Karunasiri Wijesinghe‘s work focuses on nature, representing an aesthetic and spiritual exploration of Sri Lanka’s natural environment. His intricate drawings depict trees in the Royal Botanic Gardens of Peradeniya, narrating their struggles and moments of triumph. Sri Lankan illustrator and designer U. Arulraj sheds light on the ecological devastation caused by colonial tea cultivation. His detailed drawings interweave plants, animals, and people affected by this history of exploitation.
Kulagu Tu Buvongan, a Filipino collective, employs sonic ethnography to call for justice for the environment and people of the Pantaron Mountain Range in Mindanao. Their art piece For Every Name a Forest (2021–2023) features an LED installation and sound recordings. Indigenous elders mimic the sounds of the forest that they can no longer access.
Nepalese artist Sanod Maharjan specialises in Plein-Air painting. In the exhibition, he presents his series Letters to the Forest Spirits (2019–), in which he revives a Kathmandu Valley tradition of writing notes to forest spirits and mourns the shrinking forests and their lost stories.
Other artists participating in the exhibition include Moza Almatrooshi, Rakibul Anwar, Nahla Al Tabbaa, Shiraz Bayjoo, Pathum Dharmarathna, Tamarra Jayasundera, Karachi LaJamia, Sangita Maity, Otobong Nkanga, Pushpakanthan Pakkiyarajah, MTF Rukshana, Sarmila Sooriyakumar with Pirainila Krishnarajah, and Thava Thajendran.
To get more information about Way of the Forest, please visit the official web page of the show.
In addition, you might be interested in visiting Between the Tides: A Gulf Quinquennial, which is on display at the NYUAD Art Gallery, and Native: Plants in the UAE. We would also recommend that you view Artist’s Garden: Samur by Zheng Bo.
