Opening: Tuesday 07 - 10 - 2025 18:00 → 21:00
Workshop: Thursday 30 – 10 – 2025 18:00 → 21:00

When does a tree’s sap start flowing, when do trees get to work in the morning, when does their trunk grow most? During one year, the artists of the Anaïs Berck collective* measured the movements of three Scots Pines in three nature reserves in Flanders, with the intention of designing tree clocks. They recorded their movements using sensors that measure the expansion and contraction of the trunk, CO2 absorption, air temperature and humidity, and sunlight.

Although the three trees live in similar habitats — the sandy and heathland soil of the Kalmthoutse Heide, Bosland National Park, and De Liereman — their internal clocks show significant differences. Should that be surprising?

The project was inspired by the idea of criptime, a notion of time invoked by people for whom normative time often doesn’t meet their needs. A workday from 9 till 5, a route from A to B which should take ten minutes to walk according to the algorithm’s prediction; but also life events that would normally occur, such as living autonomously, getting married, having children.

Therefore, Anaïs Berck created a data work displaying all the observations, along with the phases of the moon and the seasons. A web app also displays the detailed data for those interested in delving deeper into the observations. And finally, a tree clerk took the time to communicate with the trees and compiled a diary. It includes unusual days, whether due to tree activity, weather conditions, or the start of a new season. You can request a fragment of the diary via text message.

– 
Activities around this project

A workshop around this installation will take place on Thursday 30 October in Constant’s office.

The installation runs simultaneously in Constant, the Kalmthoutse Heide/De Vroente, Landschap De Liereman, and Pijnven/National Park Bosland. There you can also participate in a moment of encounter, sharing and walks.
You find more information here.

– 
*Biography and acknowledgments

This project is a work of Anaïs Berck, an artistic collective of humans, trees, and algorithms:

• Humans contributing to this project: An Mertens (coordination/tree clerk), Gijs de Heij & Doriane Timmermans (code/graphic design – Open Source Publishing), Anne-Laure Buisson (data scientist), Aelyn Van Diest (bioengineer/communication with the trees).
• Trees contributing to this project: Scots Pine Kalmthoutse Heide (51.3873841, 4.4339524), Scots Pine De Liereman (51.331038, 5.038019), Scots Pine Bosland (51.1631441, 5.3102481).
• Algorithms contributing to this project: Decentlab sun sensor, Milesight & Sensecap CO2 & temperature sensor; EMS Brno band dendrometers, point dendrometer and weather station from Ghent University (Dr. Ir. Kathy Steppe); django, leaflet, sqlite, D3 JavaScript module, Python programming language, Pca, cluster analysis, skyfield, HTML, CSS.

Many thanks to: forest ranger Eddy Ulenaers, scientist Marjel van den Boer, Dr. Kathy Steppe (Boslab/Bosland National Park), arborist Sven Boets, writer and artist Achilles Cools, Kristof Sprengers, Carola Van Hove, Kris Van der Steen, Paulien Maes, Marian Mertens, Rose Govaerts, Karen Segers (De Liereman team), Peter Noben, Sofie Regniers, Jef De Winter and his team of arborists, Marc Vogels (Kalmthoutse Heide team).

With the support of: Vlaamse Overheid – Kunsten, Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles Arts Numériques, Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie, De Vroente, Landschap De Liereman, Nationaal Park Bosland.