Parliament of the Trees was the title of the remarkable gathering held in Amstelpark on 22 October 2022. On the initiative of artist Elmo Vermijs, judges, lawyers, experts, artists and spectators came together for a trial in which the trees called those who threaten their existence to account. The experimental proceedings took place in a temporary installation on the southern side of the park, constructed from 46 tree trunks and 57 planks, borrowed for the occasion from timber yard Stadshout. The artwork in the form of a mock trial brought together stakeholders and interested parties to explore what happens when trees are granted the same rights as people. Would that give parks and forests greater means to protect themselves?
Much is expected of artworks in the public domain, and many functions are attributed to them. They can serve to beautify a place, reduce feelings of insecurity, commemorate something or someone, or express the cultural ambitions of a city. But very often there is the expectation that they provide a space for encounter — that they bring people together.
In Parliament of the Trees, that is exactly what happened.
SNEAKPEEK from the chapter by @jeroenboomgaard in U bent hier, on encounter as a function of art in public space.
photo: Jan Willem Kaldenbach
