Arbornauts
The Arbornauts project is a collaboration between Amanda White, Lydia Burggraaf and Meghan Krauss that attempts to reimagine our engagement with public space in the urban environment. Existing between the unknown and the obvious, the urban tree canopy becomes the site of an imaginary mission similar to the mesmerizing early space expeditions. On these expeditions, the Arbornauts venture into the frontier (climb trees in public spaces) to retrieve valuable geophysical information. As a narrative for the project, our objective is to survey these new geographies for future use, however in reality our objective is to provoke tree climbing behaviour.
Public city parks exist in the marginal space between nature (where humans are not) and the city; this definition of the space necessitates our engagement with the park to be within our capacity as a cultured human, in contrast to that of the uncultured child or animal climbing trees. As the Arbornauts, we normalize our tree-climbing through the use of uniforms and “professional” looking equipment. During our climbs, we attract attention and confusion through our engagement with public space. Existing between the unknown and the obvious, the tree canopy becomes the site of an imaginary mission similar to those mesmerizing early space expeditions. On our expeditions, we venture into the frontier of the tree canopy to retrieve valuable information that will enable future generations of Arbornauts to potentially homestead there.
Link to the Arbornauts Project Site
Public city parks exist in the marginal space between nature (where humans are not) and the city; this definition of the space necessitates our engagement with the park to be within our capacity as a cultured human, in contrast to that of the uncultured child or animal climbing trees. As the Arbornauts, we normalize our tree-climbing through the use of uniforms and “professional” looking equipment. During our climbs, we attract attention and confusion through our engagement with public space. Existing between the unknown and the obvious, the tree canopy becomes the site of an imaginary mission similar to those mesmerizing early space expeditions. On our expeditions, we venture into the frontier of the tree canopy to retrieve valuable information that will enable future generations of Arbornauts to potentially homestead there.
Link to the Arbornauts Project Site
Arbornauts Group Photo, Paterson Park, Windsor, ON - 2011
Arbornauts Lydia & Meghan during a tree exploration, Paterson Park, Windsor, ON - 2011
Arbornaut Safety Gear, Paterson Park, Windsor, ON - 2011
Arbornauts Amanda & Meghan during a tree exploration, Paterson Park, Windsor, ON - 2011