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Keith Armstrong on collaborating with forests

Keith Armstrong on collaborating with forests

What does it mean to make art for a forest—not just about it? Keith Armstrong explores this question through his long-term project Forest Art Intelligence, which blends ecological recovery with creative experimentation.

Forest Art Intelligence is a project that regenerates a cleared block of land into a native forest. Developed in partnership with the Samford Ecological Research Facility (SERF) and the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), the project will be supported in 2024 through an ANAT Synapse Residency.

Keith’s work challenges how we engage with ecological systems—inviting participation, reflection, and action.

Listen to this podcast to learn about:

  • Creating artworks that support environmental recovery by providing habitat and enhancing ecological systems.
  • Using analogue materials—like logs, soil, and fungi—together with digital tools such as LIDAR and acoustic sensors to interact with a living site.
  • Why long-term, site-specific engagement matters—and how repeated visits shape an artist’s way of observing and responding to place.

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Chapters

  • (00:00:00) Introduction and acknowledgements
  • (00:00:56) Welcome and project overview
  • (00:02:09) Forest art intelligence explained
  • (00:03:27) Art intelligence and environmental regeneration
  • (00:07:35) Scientific collaboration and data collection
  • (00:08:21) Gardening vs. regeneration
  • (00:20:51) Collaborating with nature
  • (00:26:46) Advice for creatives
  • (00:28:31) Conclusion and wrap-up

About Keith Armstrong 

Keith Armstrong is an artist whose practice is grounded in ecological and social inquiry. He creates participatory, site-specific and technologically embedded works that ask how art can become a tool for rethinking our relationship with the environment and systems. He has led and created more than sixty major art and research-based projects. His work has been supported by fellowships from Creative Australia, the Australian Network for Art and Technology (ANAT), and the Synapse Art-Science Residency program.

Key takeaways from this interview with Keith Armstrong

The forest as the artwork

“The regrowth of the forest—that in itself is the artwork.”

Keith frames the regenerating forest not as the subject of the artwork, but as the artwork itself. This reframes art-making as ecological participation rather than representation, positioning the creative act within real-world environmental change.

Art that participates, not extracts

Rather than making art about ecological processes, Keith creates works that materially contribute to them. For example, he introduced a large fallen tree limb into the site to serve as habitat and accelerate decomposition—actively supporting the forest’s recovery.

Audience response and discovery

“We’ve now got ourselves a stop on the trail.”

The project is now part of the Samford Ecological Research Facility’s science trail, where visitors encounter ecological monitoring and restoration projects. The installation invites audiences to witness the forest’s regeneration process in situ, blending scientific observation with creative intervention.

Collaboration

“We’re just slowly meandering together.”

Keith describes the collaborative process with ecologists, land managers and other researchers as slow, evolving and non-goal-driven. This long-term partnership fosters shared decision-making and mutual learning across disciplines.

Slowing down and being present

“For the first time in my life, I’ve been able to go back to one place and watch it change.”

Keith reflects on how sustained visits to the same site have deepened his attention. The project encourages an embodied, analogue mode of observation that contrasts with fast-paced, product-driven approaches to both art and science.

Responsive practice shaped by the site

“When a rare bird was found… it was time to change the project and actually respect what’s actually happening.”

When a rare button quail was discovered living on the site, Keith and his collaborators changed their regeneration plans to protect its grassland habitat. By adapting their approach, they put the needs of the ecosystem first.

Analogue approaches in a digital world

“Digital systems subsample the world—but nature is 100% analogue.”

Keith critiques the limitations of digital technologies in fully capturing ecological complexity. His process increasingly favours analogue methods and materials that align with the forest’s rhythms and intelligences.

Advice

“I’m probably much more interested in work that does something rather than say something about.”

Keith encourages artists working with ecological systems to focus on action and impact. Rather than making symbolic gestures, he advocates for practices that materially contribute to ecological processes and foster long-term care

Links from this podcast with Keith Armstrong

Edited transcript of this interview with Keith Armstrong

How can artists create work that contributes to ecological regeneration?

Robin Petterd: What's the first Forest Art Intelligence project?

Keith Armstrong: Forest Art Intelligence really began as a response to the current focus on human and artificial intelligence. We're in the time of generative AI, and so many models of AI are based on what it means to be human and intelligent. But what if we looked beyond our own way of knowing and recognised the many forms of intelligence already present in the world?

Keith Armstrong: I was influenced by James Bridle’s ideas about the world being full of rich, non-human intelligences. And if we could shift our attention to them, we’d have a lot to learn. It's worth mentioning—we may be a successful species, but we’re also the most destructive.

Keith Armstrong: So, Forest Art Intelligence starts with regeneration. There’s a cleared paddock and wet gully at the Samford Ecological Research Facility (SERF), west of Brisbane on Turrbal country. For over a hundred years, this area was repeatedly slashed. But even after that, native plants kept re-emerging. There was a latent forest—more accurately, a grassy woodland—just waiting for the chance to return.

Keith Armstrong: Through long-term engagement with this site, I was invited to lead a project to regenerate it. That means honouring country, listening to First Nations voices, and engaging with politics, stewardship, and environmental action.

Keith Armstrong: So now the question becomes: Can we create an artwork that highlights this slow, steady intelligence of regeneration? To me, the forest’s regrowth is the artwork. It’s not a representation of ecology—it is ecology in action.

What does it mean to collaborate with nature in art?

Robin Petterd: I was going to ask this later, but since we're here—when working on a process-based site like this, where is the artwork? Is it the physical forest, or the gallery recordings?

Keith Armstrong: The work exists in multiple sites. The regrowth itself is the meta artwork. But I’ve also started developing what I call art intelligences—site-specific works that respond to and evolve with the forest. These aren’t artworks for us—they’re artworks for the forest.

Keith Armstrong: For instance, the first art intelligence was the transplantation of a two-tonne Queensland blue gum limb from a nearby paddock into the site. It became immediate habitat—a low-rent motel—for non-human species. By drilling holes, adding soil, and encouraging fungal growth, we created a richer environment more quickly.

Keith Armstrong: These are what I call art intelligence accelerators. And eventually, there will be art intelligence interpreters—media artworks that help share these processes with public audiences, perhaps through galleries or festivals.

Collaboration between artists and scientists in environmental projects

Robin Petterd: Your work has always been collaborative. How is working with scientists different from collaborating with other artists?

Keith Armstrong: Every collaboration is different, of course. But in this case, I’m working with Eleanor Velasquez from TERN, David Tucker—a plant biologist, Marcus Yates—a land manager with deep on-country knowledge, and Gabriel Levi Labin—a restoration ecologist.

Keith Armstrong: Together, they ensure the forest regenerates and is monitored responsibly. We’re also co-authoring a paper in a new field called critical forest studies—focused on cultural and creative engagement with forests. It’s a long-term, evolving collaboration built on mutual respect.

Keith Armstrong: We’ve even become part of SERF’s science trail, which means the project is recognised as a legitimate form of ecological engagement. That’s been encouraging.

Keith Armstrong: The ANAT Synapse Residency gave me space to pause and commit to process rather than product. I’ve also had support from Creative Australia. But most importantly, I had time to build relationships before inviting these collaborators in. That foundation has been key.

Media art installations using analog and digital tools

Robin Petterd: You've mentioned using recordings and sensors. How does this data-gathering shift your relationship with the site?

Keith Armstrong: This is the first time I’ve returned to the same site repeatedly. As a bushwalker, I’m used to moving through places. But this project allows me to stand still and watch the land change over seasons. That’s been transformative.

Keith Armstrong: Of course, there’s pressure to record—especially as a media artist. I’ve done LIDAR scans, set up acoustic monitors, and followed ecological protocols. But I’ve also done more personal recordings—sometimes for reasons I can’t fully explain.

Keith Armstrong: Recording changes how you pay attention. It sharpens focus but can also be a distraction. I’m increasingly drawn to analog methods that honour embodied presence over digital capture.

Robin Petterd: Right. It's like framing something with a camera—you see only a part, but being present means experiencing the whole.

Keith Armstrong: Exactly. Living systems are fully analog. Digital systems only ever subsample. That’s why I’m leaning toward analog approaches. They feel truer to the rhythms of the forest.

Long-term site-specific environmental art projects

Robin Petterd: What’s your advice to other creatives working with natural systems?

Keith Armstrong: Learn from the history of land art and media ecology. Understand past practices.

Keith Armstrong: But more than that—make work that does something, not just says something. In earlier projects, we grew native grasses. In this one, we’re growing a forest. These are interventions with real-world impact.

Keith Armstrong: Avoid extractive methods. Don’t repeat the patterns of domination that have harmed ecosystems. Model alternatives. Find ways to resituate humans as partners in these systems—not lords and masters.

Keith Armstrong: It’s about care, humility, and long-term thinking.

End of transcript

Posted 03-05-2025