I was transported back in time as my ears were flooded with an echoey ambience, evoking the sensation of venturing through a blustery cave chamber. Several months prior, I helped gather audio recordings alongside fellow Oregon State University students with traveling artist collective Futurefarmers. It was during these collaborative sessions that I was able to witness firsthand the infinite curiosity and exploration that encapsulates the group. Although I only helped with the initial planning, Futurefarmers continued to work with Oregon State students and faculty for the creation of Silicon Forest: Understories of Trees and Data, located at PRAx in Corvallis, Oregon. I was eager to witness what the final exhibition had become.
I initially opted out of listening to the accompanying audio tour, seeking to gain an understanding established purely through the artwork and writings contained within the display. What I quickly realized, however, was that this additional context brought to life the deeper connotations intended by the artists, highlighting key thought processes that could not have been interpreted otherwise.
The space is open, with an assortment of items resting on numbered slabs of stone scattered throughout the room. At the entrance sat an inconspicuous pile of papers, upon which was printed a “storyboard” of the display. I failed to notice these papers initially, yet they proved to be an exceptionally important component in providing context to the collection of objects. Throughout the exhibit, the items were numbered chronologically from 1–14 and were not accompanied by descriptions. The storyboard paper, however, briefly outlined fourteen scenes, each with an accompanying item, or “prop,” that correlated with the numbers along the floor. At that point, it began to click. I was walking through a physical representation of an abstracted film storyboard.
The entrance to the exhibit was marked as “past” on the storyboard paper, containing scenes 1–8. This section displayed items such as gloves hand-sewn on canvas fabric, a large piece of foam resembling a rock, and a spool of historical steam outputs from a local energy plant. I recognized the foam block and spool of data, both present during the initial project brainstorming sessions that I had been able to attend. This first set of scenes was intended to represent initial origins, showcasing items found from around the nearby ecological region. In addition to the aforementioned objects, this included soil sourced from the Willamette River, grass seed from Oregon State research farms, and equipment used to measure changes in the local environment. This area of the exhibit was considered the Input, the first phase of the storyboard, where information is gathered.
Walking into the second section, scenes 9–11 represent “the present,” what I consider to be the heart of the exhibit. Facing the center of the room, a giant pile of woodchips was intertwined with pieces of yellow paper. This portion of the exhibit is considered the Processing unit, intended to be a dynamic, collaborative space where ideas are shaped and refined. The woodchips serve as a central gathering place to engage in dialogue. Participants considered prompts such as the “cost of consumption,” writing their hopes for the environment’s future on yellow sticky notes. These sticky notes were then crushed into pulp. Someday, this will be transformed into a new piece of paper displaying a collective positioning statement. For the time being, however, fourteen different statements, created by Oregon State University researchers and multi-disciplinary contributors from around the globe, hang across the space. They formed statements about the future amidst technological advancement, questioning the sustainability and impact of today’s rate of data consumption.
Past the woodchip mound, I entered the third and final section of the display representing “the future.” It contained scenes 12-14. Upon the stone sheets were vials and petri dishes, labeled as various fungal and bacterial samples collected from the styrofoam block. The final assortment of objects, titled the “Graphics Processing Unit” in the storyboard, displayed a variety of TVs, printers, projectors, and other technological devices interacting with natural resources such as sand and bacteria. From a conceptual standpoint, this final section of the display represents the Output. This occurs when data gathered from the Input is combined with the Graphics Processing Unit, transforming ongoing dialogue into the technological advancements of the future. It creates a space for shifting and change within the exhibit, described in the audio tour as “growing into new things that we’ll slowly learn more about.”
Silicon Forest is more than an exhibit—it is a living conversation that evolves with those who engage with it. While its abstract nature may leave some spectators struggling to grasp its deeper themes, I believe that the space was primarily designed to foster active dialogue within the community. Without discussion, much of its message—exploring consumption, transformation, and the shifting nature of data—remains incomplete. The exhibit encourages visitors to step beyond observation, participate actively, and shape its narrative alongside others, allowing its complexity to fully unfold.
Silicon Forest: Understories of Trees and Data
Stirek Gallery at Oregon State University’s PRAx
April 18 – June 21, 2025
This review was made possible by generous support from Critical Conversations, The University of Oregon Center for Art Research (CFAR), and The Ford Family Foundation.