What the world needs more of right now is love
The Enchanted Forest of Love is designed to be a space in which people can explore and experience different types of love, to consider how these might figure in their lives and respond in whichever way expresses what love means to them.
But what does love look like? And if you were to encounter an enchanted forest of love, what would you expect to find within it? How do we define love? Is it all rainbows and unicorns? Does it end with a diamond ring? Does it look like chocolate, champagne and roses? Who do you love? What do you love? It’s so yummy to love and to be loved. How much love to you have to give?
Spaces in the forest explore and invite an audience response to 8 types of love:
- Philia (friendship): Affectionate love: love of friends and equals
- Pragma (enduring): Staying together is a choice. It’s about making a conscious choice every day to love this person – or these people.
- Storge (familial): Love of the child: love of parents for children
- Eros (lust): Love of the body: erotic, passionate love
- Agape (selfless love): Love of mankind, of the world & everything in it
- Ludus (flirtation): Playful, uncommitted love
- Mania (obsessive) love: We fall in love not just with a person wholly external to us but with a fantasy of how that person can fill what is missing from our interior lives.
- Philautia (love of the self): coming into your own heart centre
Love is like a forest: there are many paths through a forest but not all will lead us where we want to go. Not all will take us by the direct route. Sometimes there will be obstacles or blockages put in our way. Some paths will lead us astray. And sometimes straying from the path will get us into trouble or help us discover unexpected delights. Love doesn’t just grow – it needs to be nurtured to grow strong and be healthy. Like a tree, as it grows, it’s root system is larger than its canopy. It’s roots run deep and help to stabilize it. But even the strongest tree can be broken or toppled over by a storm.
Audience participation
Through my art, I aim to bring people together and build connection and community. I like to invite people to participate and co-create the art with me. I provide prompts or suggestions, but leave it up to the audience to determine the direction the final work will take. Visitors to the Enchanted Forest of Love were invited to explore and play in the space, consider what each different form of love meant for them, create a love note to give to someone or to leave for others to read and enjoy. In this instance, a beautiful love note tree was created by visitors.
As always with audience participation, things took some unexpected turns! Each area contained prompts or provocations linked to the different kind of love portrayed on the curtain. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the lingerie hung in the Eros space became a popular choice of garment to wear, particularly with male visitors. Many people chose to wear their lingerie for a period of time or to another event before returning it to the Enchanted Forest of Love for others to enjoy.
Created at Wild Yam Festival, “Harvest Love“, Easter 2021, Mangrove Mountain
Materials used
- Recycled curtains, sheets, mosquito nets and fabric scraps
- Bamboo poles
- Rope / string
Love how the space was contained and open at the same time. Very clever use of materials so it just accentuated the natural space.
Other worldly creation of sacred space – and f***ing awsome execution.
I loved how it allowed us to feel the sacred space of the forest with the container of love.
Every year you create something beautiful! I loved how peaceful it was, beautiful embroidery, reading & writing on hearts
Oh it was just beautiful!! I adored the love note tree. Sweet and sacred.
I loved the circle of trees, how they embraced your work with their love. Holding all your art in their loving tree branch arms. You created it with such love in your heart and we all experienced the different worlds and words of love. It was mind blowing and beautiful. Thank you so much for your forest of enchanted love.
The Artful Bea 