Skies of blue, clouds of white, trees of … blue? Yes, blue — at least along the Wolf River Greenline, where a new free, immersive public art experience is about to open this weekend, complete with blue trees and wind chimes. The experience, titled “Shelby Canopy: Our Shared Connection,” features two temporary installations: “The Blue Trees Environmental Art Installation” by international artist Konstantin Dimopoulos and “Tree Tones” by local artist duo, Belleau + Churchill. This will be Germantown Public Art Program’s first public art installation since developing its master plan in 2019.
For Australian-based Dimopoulos’ “The Blue Trees,” the artists and volunteers have, since November 1st, applied an eco-friendly pigment to the trunks of more than 100 trees, creating a striking landscape of ultramarine blue trees juxtaposed against the natural browns and greens of the forested area. The concept of the project was born out of Dimopoulos’ concern for deforestation. “In my environmental art installation, The Blue Trees,” he writes in his artist statement, “the colour and the Tree come together to transform and affect each other; the colour changing the Tree into something surreal, while the Tree, rooted in this earth reflects what we may lose.”
And so, the trees are blue, simply because there are no blue trees in nature; thus, the viewer will pay more attention to them. Since its conception in 2003, “The Blue Trees” has traveled around the world, making Memphis its 36th stop. “This is the first time we’ve done it in a forest area, which is really exciting,” the artist says. “Normally it’s outside a library or a municipal thing; whereas, here it’s kind of like little sparks [of blue] everywhere.”
The pigment is essentially liquid chalk, the artist goes on to explain, and does not have a binder that paint has, which makes it safe to use in a project like this. Over time, the pigment will fade and wash away with rain. It’s likely the trees will remain blue at the Wolf River Greenway for six months.
“There’s a pretty rigorous selection of trees [for this project],” adds Cat Peña, Germantown’s public art and design manager. “You have to have smooth bark, and we can’t have trees that have lots of moss on them, because it takes a long time for moss to grow, and deeply fissured bark trees that insects can be living inside of them. And so, a city arborist came, and we selected the site, we selected the trees, and we also did a health check like a month beforehand.”
Further, to complement “The Blue Trees,” the Germantown Public Art program commissioned Belleau + Churchill, Raina Belleau and Caleb Churchill, to create “Tree Tones,” an auditory installation on the same trail as Dimopoulos’ trees. “Tree Tones” features 60 wind chimes, hanging from the trees. “There’s six different tones, and they relate to six different tree species on the trail,” says Peña. “There’s a cord between the six tones that’s scientifically proven to be very calming. And when it’s windy, you’ll be able to hear a little bit of the ecology of the forest.”
An audio tour, accessible through QR codes provided on trail signs, will accompany both installations in English and Spanish, says Peña. “Specifically for Tree Tones, you’ll hear voices of children who’ve worked on this project [with Belleau and Churchill] about their experience with trees and meditation,” she says. “We went to Carpenter Art Garden, The Overton Park Conservancy, Lamplighter Montessori School, and Crosstown High.”
In a similar fashion, Dimopoulos during his stay in Memphis will visit with students at Dogwood Elementary, Farmington Elementary, and Riverdale School, where he will speak about the project and tint a few trees on their campuses.
For Peña, including the next generation in this project was obligatory. “It sounds kind of cheesy,” she says, “but the children are our future. This project is about our natural resources, … so it’s kind of a way of making these things that are a part of us and we’re a part of just closer to us.”
In turn, Peña hopes these installations will encourage conversations about our ever-so precious trees, the environment at large, and what we can do to preserve and protect the resources we have. Plus, she says, “We are encouraging people to get outdoors and experience nature. We’re really encouraging people to use the trail throughout the county because we’re so lucky to have this trail system. People could be coming from the Germantown side or from the Memphis side [to see the installations], and it was really intentional to place them this close to a city border.”
“Shelby Canopy: Our Shared Connection” opens Sunday, November 19th, and will remain on display through April 19, 2024. The installation is located along a section of the Wolf River Greenway trail system, near the Memphis and Germantown border. (See map below.) The trail is open from sunrise to sunset, seven days a week. Find out more about “Shelby Canopy” here.
Konstantin Dimopoulos will give an artist talk about “The Blue Trees” at Germantown Community Library, Thursday, November 16th, 6:30-7:30 p.m. For more information or to register, call (901) 757-7323.
