Ethan Wilder

No One Sees Trees, 2023

Ethan Wilder is an interdisciplinary artist from Toronto, Ontario working primarily in sculptural and auditory installations. His work takes inspiration from the natural world as he extracts aspects both directly and indirectly, through field recordings captured amongst a forest or the use of recycled wood, Wilder brings us a world of works that invite the viewer to listen a little closer.

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Trees in old growth forests communicate through fungal networks that attach themselves to the root systems. Everyday around 42 million of these avid conversationalists are destroyed to serve humanity. During the 80’s and 90’s in the Pacific Northwest, old growth forest conservationists fought loggers to prevent deforestation. These activists were aware of something that most of us are not: trees are older, wiser, and more powerful than any human. They awoke to the importance of the natural world and the need to preserve it. No One Sees Trees, through auditory sculptures made from recycled materials, gives voice to the silent, wooded giants of our world and articulates a conversation within the forest in an attempt to bring awareness to how alive these creatures truly are and the kind of deep listening they require of humans. However, the reality of deforestation is ever present. No One Sees Trees is an exploration of the natural world in order to become more aware of the overlooked parts of the Earth.

I am interested in the little things that seem small but become infinitely significant if we take some time to lean a little closer and listen. Active listening, conscious walking, and breath awareness are ideologies I have immersed myself in outside of my practice as an artist and in my daily life. Actively, and intentionally, listening in to the sounds of our world, walking with all my attention on my feet as they meet the surface of the Earth, and focusing my awareness solely on my breath as it flows through my lungs have allowed me to learn to become more present in my life. A practice I often struggled with as the world spun around me at a pace that I was never prepared for. Exploring these ideologies has opened my mind to a universe of microcosms that are at play at every second, this universe being the natural world. With this newfound respect for the

natural creations and creatures inhabiting Earth I move on with a new appreciation for life and I aim to heighten others’ awareness of this world through my work.