“CLEARING”

An Art Installation by Michel Comte in collaboration with Yuichi Kodai in Zurich’s Limattal Forest

 

In a quiet pocket of Zurich’s Limattal forest, CLEARING stands as both art and encounter, revealing the forest’s hidden rhythms. Created by artist Michel Comte and architect Yuichi Kodai, this installation opens up a newly cleared space where a single fallen tree, now wrapped in copper, reclaims its place in the landscape.

 

To create CLEARING, young trees were gently removed from the forest floor, returning the fallen tree to its original visibility in the canopy’s clearing. This act of clearing—a human intervention and a natural rebirth—respects both perspectives, inviting a contemplative pause where the cycles of forest life are brought into view.

 

Wrapped in copper, the fallen tree becomes more than a remnant; it’s a presence both preserved and transformed. Copper, ancient and elemental, holds a natural stability—it’s a mineral substance found in the earth itself, essential for the quiet life cycles of soil and plant life. As copper weathers, it gains a protective patina that keeps it close to nature’s rhythms, blending its steady qualities with the forest’s cycles of decay and renewal. Here, copper does not disrupt; it enriches, reflecting a relationship with nature that is nurturing, balanced, and enduring.

 

In Japanese tradition, forest clearings are known as yorishiro—sacred spaces where spirits may dwell, places where stillness offers something sacred. The clearing around the copper-wrapped tree creates a similar kind of sanctuary, inviting visitors to listen, perhaps, to the pulse of the forest floor beneath their feet. In this open space, it feels as if time holds still, allowing the forest’s subtle energies to come forward.

 

Below the surface, decomposition creates gentle flows of energy as microorganisms break down organic matter, releasing ions that generate a faint electric current. Copper, a natural conductor, subtly interacts with these unseen currents, hinting at the quiet exchanges that sustain the forest’s health. This silent connection between the copper-wrapped tree and the earth forms an unspoken link, adding yet another layer to this meeting of art and nature.

 

Visitors are invited to experience CLEARING as a space where “Nature as Garden” and “Garden as Nature” become one. This installation honors the resilience and quiet interconnectedness within the forest, offering a glimpse into the hidden power and vitality of life cycles just beneath the surface. Here, nature doesn’t merely exist—it invites us to pause, reflect, and remember our place within its rhythms.

​

​​Yuichi Kodai   

​​

​​

​​

​​

​​