A new exhibition for the Art Is... festival is asking people to let their favorite tree know what is on their minds as part of an audio-visual art display.
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Participants are asked to record themselves speaking a 30-second message to a selected tree, starting with the phrase "Dear tree...".
Tasmanian artist Rose Ertler is behind the project and said she wanted to see the various relationships people have with trees and the natural world.
"This one is all about people's relationships with trees. Maybe some people haven't thought about a favourite tree they have passed every day," she said.
"I like doing projects where I ask a question and I am interested in the different ways people respond. There are no wrong answers, just different ideas for the same question.
"Most people do it very spontaneously, occasionally they might write something down. But I love spontaneous and genuine from-the-heart words."
Ms Ertler said she came up with the idea for the project while attending an art festival in Launceston.
Prior to the festival being set up, Ms Ertler said she was walking around the park where it was being held and looking at its oak trees.
"There is so much technology, forest logging and destruction, it is so important to protect and appreciate what we have got," she said.
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Ms Ertler has run a similar online exhibition during the COVID lockdown, and said participants often thanked trees for the role they played in their childhoods.
"A lot of the time it is words of appreciation - people thanking them, telling a story of their past, people talking about a favourite childhood tree," she said.
Dear Tree will be at the Art Is... festival at the Maydale Reserve on June 25 and 26.
Ms Ertler plans to use a series of beds underneath trees and headphones to create a dual audio-visual experience.
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