Tealemetree Station – Have a Tea with a Tree 

Table for tea drinking 
2015/2025

Tealemetree Station is a visual distillation of Agnes Meyer-Brandis’s artistic thinking, symbolizing a dialogue betweentrees, humans, art, nature, and science.

About a decade ago, the artist built a table under a tree at the Hyytiälä Forest Station and invited scientists to joinherself and the tree for a cup of tea. The encounter proved tobe inspiring, at least for the human participants. The tree’s opinion is unknown.

One Tree ID – Salix alba ‘splendens sibirica‘
How to Become a Tree for Another Tree

Tree, perfumes, measuring equipment, cloud furniture
2019/2025

Every tree, plant and human has its own distinct scent. One Tree ID creates a biochemical connection between trees and humans by means of a perfume enabling people to ‘become a tree for another tree’.

Each tree emits a cloud of gases and molecules called VOCs (volatile organic compounds). Trees use this invisible ID to communicate with their environment. Collaborating with scientific partners, Meyer-Brandis transformed the ID of specific trees into perfumes by measuring and synthesizing the VOC clouds released by their roots, stems and foliage.

By applying the perfume, humans can invisibly communicate with trees on a biochemical level. The installation invites us to reflect on the relationship between trees, nature, and humans. The best way to connect with the tree is to apply the perfume in its immediate vicinity.

Two tree species were chosen for this exhibition: the white willow (Salix alba ‘splendens sibirica’) and the black olive tree (Bucida buceras). The white willow on the museum grounds is almost 100 years old. lt was chosen and planted in the 1930s by the horticulturist and architect Paul Olsson.

The black olive tree is on display in the museum’s indoor exhibition As Trees Go By.You can buy perfume samples as a souvenir of your visit in the museum shop.

One Tree ID – Bucida buceras 
How to Become a Tree for Another Tree

Tree, perfumes, measuring equipment, cloud furniture 
2019/2025

Every tree, plant and human has its own distinct scent. One Tree ID creates a biochemical connection between trees and humans by means of a perfume enabling people to ‘become a tree for another tree’.

Each tree emits a cloud of gases and molecules called VOCs (volatile organic compounds). Trees use this invisible ID to communicate with their environment. Collaborating with scientific partners, Meyer-Brandis transformed the ID of specific trees into perfumes by measuring and synthesizing the VOC clouds released by their roots, stems and foliage.

By applying the perfume, humans can invisibly communicate with trees on a biochemical level. The installation invites us to reflect on the relationship between trees, nature, and humans. The best way to connect with the tree is to apply the perfume in its immediate vicinity.

Two tree species were chosen for the exhibition: the white willow (Salix alba ‘splendens sibirica’) and the black olive tree (Bucida buceras).

You will find instructions for your persona One Tree ID encounter on the screen above the cloud around the bullet tree (Bucida buceras).

The white willow on the museum grounds is almost 100 years old. lt was chosen and planted in the 1930s by the horticulturist and architect Paul Olsson. You can buy perfume samples as a souvenir of your visit in the museum shop.

Subsurdum

Wall collage: drawings, photographs, videos, perfumes, various elements
2010/2025

Subsurdum is an ever-expanding visual archive of material gathered from the artist’s explorations of places and literary sources from the past twenty years. lt sheds light on the insights and connections formed in Meyer-Brandis’ mind and on her desktop, some of which find tangible expression in the artworks presented in this exhibition.

Subsurdum is a vast, complex entanglement of elements ranging from microscopic aerosol particles to vast entities such as the coniferous forest belt and the Earth’s atmosphere. The corpus may seem non-linear and incoherent, but it follows its own logic. Some of the material was experienced and documented by the artist herself, some is dreamed of, while the rest constitutes a not-to-be-forgotten archive of raw material intended for future experimentation.

Migration Route, Siikaneva Peatland, tree #228, 2023–2024

Mixed media
2025

Peatlands change colour with the seasons. The calendar year is divided into two distinct periods: snowy and snowless. The chromatic timeline presents the calculated colour averages of photographs taken every day at 1.00 pm. Migration Route depicts a pine tree’s slow trek through the ever-changing landscapes of Siikaneva, indicating the distance it travels per day.

As Trees Go By

5-channel video installation, 5 x 4K 
2021–2025

The Office for Tree Migration began monitoring and documenting the migration of the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) in the peatlands of Siikaneva in Ruovesi in February 2022. A nature reserve since 1988, Siikaneva is one of Southern Finland’s largest contiguous peatlands preserved in a natural state of wilderness. Hidden beneath several metres of peat are traces of its slow transformation from forest lake to peatland. Now the area is gradually turning into a pine forest.

Tree migration is a globally occurring phenomenon that has been studied against the context of climate change in Finland and worldwide. Based on long-term monitoring and documentation, the agents of the Office for Tree Migration have established that rooted trees are unable to keep up with the accelerating pace of climate change.

When trees migrate, they are motivated by biological factors such as water supply and the availability of nutrients. Trees do not start wandering on a whim or in search of adventure. Their journeys are much slower and spurred by different reasons than those of humans.

Peatlands cover about one third of Finland’s land surface, but only a small proportion is preserved in its natural state owing to rapid degradation by humans and climate change. Meyer-Brandis’ installation thus preserves a valuable document of vanishing peatland ecosystems.

Despite its fanciful elements, the work is far from fantasy. lt is a poetic contemplation of contemporary reality based on artistic and scientific observation, with trees as its main protagonists.

Office for Tree Migration (OTM) Hyytiälä

Installation, videos of various durations 
2016/2024

The screens offer visitors a behind-the-scenes peek at the Office for Tree Migration, which lies 37 kilometres from Mänttä at the University of Helsinki’s Hyytiälä Forest Station. The office monitors the migration of trees in the Siikaneva peatland reserve in Ruovesi and around the world via scientific monitoring cameras.

Although trees are rooted, it is a scientifically known fact that they migrate – very slowly, over a period of decades and centuries – to survive habitat degradation caused by climate change.

OTM agents engage in field work, observing trees and taking measurements. All indications of tree migration are recorded and shared with the international Office for Tree Migration network.

The video features a vocal performance by visiting OTM agent Elsi Sloan.

Office for Tree Migration (OTM) Hyytiälä is part of the permanent Periferia – Forest Art Lab exhibition. lt is open to the public until the end of October. Check out the postcard for further details!