Presenting Youth Landscapers Collective's project ‘The Underneath', a fungi-inspired installation comprised of a circular screen, animated film and “wood-wide-web” inspired structure.
The installation invites people to step inside and see the forest floor from a different perspective.
The Youth Landscapers Collective (YLC) is a group of young people aged 13-23 from the National Forest area who explore and share the landscape’s industrial past and forest future through creative projects.
Supported by Broadway's Near Now Ideas Fund, YLC worked with local artists on the early-stage research and development activity of The Underneath.
YLC invited Will Harvey (architectural designer), Claire Davies (digital artist), Barret Hodgson (projection artist) and Tom Harris (musician) to collaborate with them in a series of workshops to experiment and develop their ideas for the fungi-inspired installation.
Video created by Laurence Mason-Guetta at Timber 22
“We drew and made models inspired by mushroom gills, captured photogrammetry of fungi and the Timber site to make 3D imagery, played with light, reflection and projection mapping and mixed field recordings into soundscapes. Working together, we began to form an idea—and a name… The Underneath!"
— Youth Landscapers Collective
About the project
Taking inspiration from the powerful “wood-wide-web”, The Underneath encourages real-life connections between people in how it is collectively made and how it is shared with others.
This project is a collaboration between Youth Landscapers Collective members, artists, technicians, community groups and the forest. Research into fungi’s mycelium networks inspired Youth Landscapers Collective to expand their ideas and connect with local groups to make fungi-inspired stop-frame animations.
These collages, made with the 3D photogrammetry and audio material gathered from local woods, remixed into the digital animation, are presented on a circular portal screen accompanied by a sub-base soundtrack.
Fungi and plants work in close partnership, and just like them, Youth Landscapers Collective have made this project collaboratively with artists, technicians, local young people, community groups and the forest itself.
The Underneath by Youth Landscapers Collective. Presented at Timber Festival 2022.
Following further funding support in 2024 to explore touring opportunities, the project was presented at the Wye Valley River Festival in May 2024 and returned to the Timber Festival in July 2024.
The work travels as a screen and film without the wooden structure and can be shown both indoors and in nature.
If you are interested in including The Underneath in your programme, contact Youth Landscapers Collective.
Additional support was provided by Arts Council England, The National Forest Company and Co-op Local Community Fund.
