Autistic Collaboration, Quiet Acts, and the Future We Grow Together. Commissioned By Raise.
A commission and collaboration with Raise, Among the Trees, is a new body of work by Visual Artist and Photographer Joanne Coates that celebrates our deep connection with nature through tree planting, the importance of spending time in our green spaces and what a forest can look like. As part of the commission Joanne spent time with Cummersdale Primary School, and Team Autism delivering Photography, Cyanotype, gathering and woodland learning workshops. The commission focuses on Raise’s planting, and what role it has to play in Cummersdale’s future. The work focuses on a neuroaffirming practice celebrating the different ways people can enjoy and engage in arts and nature.
Rebecca Solnit
“Some species of trees spread root systems underground that interconnect the individual trunks and weave the individual trees into a more stable whole … Stories and conversations are like those roots.”
Joanne Coates
There is something about trees, everything has a role, a way of communicating. In these systems difference is vital, celebrated. We need them for eco systems to thrive. We could learn so much from forests. To plant something that may only grow to its full potential in a different lifetime, for a different community feels a radical act in a world where we often think about the future in a different way. As an artist who is Autistic and has ADHD, quiet spaces, planting and growing offer a place of solace. The noise of birdsong helps me to regulate, the light dappled on leaves helps my mind focus. This project allowed me to focus on Raise’s quiet rebellion of planting trees. An act that may seem far from rebellious but in times where we are told to be divided, to come together and plant for communities of tomorrow and celebrate difference seems vital. There is a special kind of joy gleaned from green leafs sprouting out of tubes, fruit trees blooming and flowers blossoming. There is an immense pleasure from seeing something grow. In a community forest it’s not only nature that is celebrated but the community, how they grow and adapt together ”
