A “ghost forest” by Maya Lin in Manhattan

With the new installation of the American sculptor Maya Lin in Madison Square Park in Manhattan, passers-by are faced with the catastrophic consequences of climate change; they will be able to cross a cluster of about 40 huge dead trees, each of which is just over 12 meters high. . The “Ghost Forest” facility will remain in the park from May 10 to November 14.

The imposing white cedars of the Atlantic used in the Lin facility came from a renovation project in the Pine Barrens ecosystem in New Jersey. “When I started thinking about a sculptural installation for Madison Square Park, I knew I wanted to create something that would be closely related to the Park itself, the trees and the state of the Earth,” said Maya Lin, according to Hyperallergic. . Fearing that bringing in plants that had killed parasites would introduce new and dangerous biological species into the city, Lin focused on locating trees that were victims of extreme weather. The Pine Barrens ecosystem, the largest forest on the East Coast, is increasingly threatened by higher temperatures, unstable rainfall and wildlife fires. “Foresters we work with have located an area that was going to be deforested as part of a private renovation project,” Lin explained. “Since cedars need sunlight to multiply, the owner had chosen to deforest dead or unhealthy trees to allow them to regenerate.”

The “Ghost Forest” installation is accompanied by a soundtrack created by Lin with the help of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (sounds, mating calls, and songs from endangered animals that once thrived in New York). Marking the end of the project, Maya Lin and her associates will plant 1,000 native trees and shrubs in public parks in all five city counties.