Anna Dako, FOREST WITHIN – on Selfhood, Sanity and Intangible Treasures within Human Kind(ness) -
Official Selection Scottish Landscape Awards
Film Credits:
Production, Artistic Guidance and Choreography: Anna Dako;
Movement Artists: Laura Booth, Shayne Lilith-Moon, Sofia Kondylia; Instrumentals: Magi Winmill-Hermann;
Filming: Anna Dako, Bircan Birol;
Assistance: Diana Monteiro Toombs;
Photography: Noemi Dako
© Anna Dako
No portion of this film may be copied or used without the express permission of its creators
'FOREST WITHIN' was produced during the time of lockdown, when touching or wandering about felt like forms of transgression. The only resources to sanity – access to local nature reserves, were too reduced. The film was made in the annihilated part of a forest in Aberdeenshire. As movers and compassionate human beings, we wanted a dialogue with the place and let it speak for itself in movement. ‘Forest Within’ is about an embodied reflection upon inclusive ways of being.
'FOREST WITHIN' is an official selection for the Scottish Landscape Awards 2023, organised by the Scottish Arts Trust (www.scottishartstrust.org). With a first prize of £10,000, the Awards offer Scotland's biggest prize for contemporary landscape art. The stellar line-up of judges includes influential art world figures Ade Adesina RSA, Marian Leven RSA, David Mach RA HRSA, Barbara Rae RAE CBE RA RSA RSW (chair), and Jane and Louise Wilson RA.
Open to individuals or collaborating artists who work in any medium – from miniatures to installations, the judges have chosen entries in a wide range of materials and forms including 2D works in paint, charcoal, collage, textiles and photography as well as sculptures in glass, paper, stone, wood, metal and more. The competition also includes entries in film, animation, sound, performance, multimedia and virtual reality. It is a biennial competition and exhibition, open to anyone over 16 years born, living or studying in Scotland.
The stated aim of the Scottish Landscape Awards is to ‘redefine the boundaries of contemporary landscape art’ by reflecting all dimensions of natural and/or man-made environments with works that may be imaginary, surreal, abstract, documentary, ecological, realistic – anything is possible as long as the work carries a strong sense of place or context.
The inaugural Scottish Landscape Awards exhibition is on at City Art Centre in Edinburgh from 4 November 2023 to 3 March 2024. Occupying two floors of the gallery, the exhibition showcases the very best in Scottish contemporary art. The awards will then be held every 2 years in different locations around Scotland.
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