English artist Beth Derbyshire has conceived the ‘rootless forest‘. The monolithic artwork is a mobile, floating landscape – a bonafide mini forest made of real trees, planted in a barge that travels at walking pace along the British Birmingham and Black Country canals. The piece also introduces the element of sound, tackling the concepts of adjustment, homecoming and relocation told by recorded stories of two families from the military and UK Afghan communities in Birmingham. The work is informed by the moving forest, Birnam wood, in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth – it cites the warning given to Macbeth that ‘Macbeth shall never vanquish’d be until / great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill / shall come against him’. The motif of Birnam Wood – which primarily represents a prophetic device – becomes an act of disguise and discord.
the work is informed by the moving forest, birnam wood, in shakespeare’s play macbeth
the piece replicates a real forest
preparing the barge
the barge travels at walking pace along the british birmingham and black country canals
