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Regarding Forests touring exhibition

  • Installation
Photograph of a dark exhibition space. On the right side of the image are 2 large free-standing walls on which 2 photographic prints of large forest scenes are displayed, filling the entire walls. The prints show tall tree trunks, green leaf canopy cover and ground level ferns. To the left of the image is the ornate decor of the room within which the prints are being displayed. This room is a yellow colour with white painted wooden paneling and architrave details. On the far wall is a gilt framed oil painting portrait. To the far left is a padded bench. Sitting cross legged on the bench is a woman with long hair, a patterned blouse and dark trousers. She is wearing a grey face covering. She is looking out toward the photographic prints, arms loosely crossed in her lap.
Regarding Forests touring exhibition in St Bartholomew’s Hospital’s North Wing, Artwork: Chrystel Lebas. Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

In this peaceful and restorative installation in St Bartholomew’s Hospital’s North Wing, artist Chrystel Lebas offers staff, patients and the public an immersive experience including forest photography, ambient sounds and the scent of petrichor.

Artist Chrystel Lebas presents two new works from the ‘Regarding Forests’ photographic series in a multisensory, free installation within the Grade I-listed North Wing at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in the City of London.

In 2019 Chrystel Lebas travelled to the Hoh Rain Forest in Washington State, USA, and then on to the Japanese island of Yakushima, known for its Yakusugi or cedar trees. Her large-scale photographs of these two temperate rainforests, which contain some of the oldest living trees in the world, will be accompanied by a soundscape composed of the ambient sounds recorded on location as well as the scent of petrichor, which evokes the smell of the forest floor after it has rained.  

‘Regarding Forests’ is a touring exhibition by Wellcome Collection and is part of the ‘On Happiness’ season.

Location:
Barts Heritage, North Wing, St Bartholomew’s Hospital, EC1A 7BE 

Opening times: 
7 September - 2 December 2021
Tuesdays to Fridays, 11.00–16.00 (plus additional times for patients/staff with requirements outside of the opening hours) 

 Open House Festival 2021: Barts Heritage and 'Regarding Forests' will be open on Sunday 5 September, 11.00–16.00.

About the artist

Black and white, head and shoulder photograph of a woman with long, curly hair and glasses wearing a jacket. She is standing in a forest area.

Chrystel Lebas

Chrystel Lebas is a French visual artist based in London. Interested in looking at how landscapes contain psychological significance in relation to visually concealed histories, Chrystel uses photography and the moving image to address a wider understanding of the complex encounter between humans and nature. She has exhibited internationally, and her work is in private and public collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum (London) and the Bibliothèque Nationale (Paris). Her publications include ‘Field Studies: Walking through Landscapes and Archives’ (2017), winner of the Kraszna-Krausz Foundation Best Photography Book 2018. 

  • Season

On Happiness

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A season of free events, activities and two exhibitions which celebrate the complexity of happiness and invite you to explore the big questions about positive feelings.