Being Like a Tree, Towards Reconnecting to Ecological Self: Xi·Art Museum Generative Project, curated by C-PLATFORM and hosted by Lucitopia Town, Zixi Qingliang Mountain

The installation “Being Like a Tree” expresses a lived experience of connecting to nature in reflection on findings from environmental philosophy and ecology. Human empathy and identification with non-human natural elements such as animals, plants, and ecosystems can evoke actions that protect and preserve the environment. Among multiple theoretical understandings of human connection with nature, two concepts led the design process. Some scholars define a connection to nature as developing an “ecological self,” where one sees nature as part of oneself. Alternatively, the connection to nature can be described as an awareness of oneself as a member of a broader biotic community. Referring to these two views, the installation is a conceptual composition presenting human bodies embracing their surrounding natural context.