The Salvage Eaters brings together poetry and printmaking to address the process of woodland and forest regeneration and restoration. Forest restoration is considered a silver bullet for addressing some of the biggest challenges we face that includes mitigating the impacts of climate change, biodiversity conservation, water issues, livelihoods, and human well-being.
Artist Neeli Malik and poet Sarah Watkinson collaborated with early-career scientist Trisha Gopalakrishna; through a series of conversations and a sharing of academic resources, exploring the intricacies of the process of forest restoration; both concerning Trisha’s research in tropical ecosystems as well as systems local to the UK. As Covid-19 restrictions eased, the group were able to take a breath of fresh air and sought inspiration on a day trip to Wytham Woods, one of the oldest experimental forest patches in Oxfordshire, managed by the University of Oxford.
In this piece, using imagery sourced from Wytham (including large-scale lidar scans of the entire forest) the artists explore woodland regeneration; seeds are dispersed by birds, saplings sprout from the thickets, and the creatures of the forest gather up salvage to start anew. The hand-printed booklet takes the audience on a journey using poet Sarah’s compelling words, the winding text brightly illuminated amongst a vibrant green landscape of woodland, lichen, and the creatures that inhabit the forest floor. What was produced was an edition of concertina-style artist books. Alongside these, six limited-edition prints, corresponding to each page of the book.
All artworks in this project are available for sale. For any enquiries, please contact the artist directly.