Ghost Forest, 2021
Madison Square Park, New York, NY
Commissioned by Madison Square park Conservancy
May 10 – November 14, 2021
49 Atlantic Cedar trees (36 - 46 feet)
Photography: Andy Romer, courtesy MSPC
Additional Photography: Maya Lin Studio
Maya Lin’s Ghost Forest, brings a towering stand of forty-nine Atlantic white cedar trees, victims of salt water inundation due to climate change to downtown manhattan’s Madison Square Park. A 6 month installation- this majestic grove of cut trees will slowly turn grayer and more ghostly as the park’s grand living trees go through all seasons- starting in winter and returning to winter by the end of the installation- Lin brings her vision as an artist and her agency as an environmental activist to this project. Ghost Forest is a haunting symbol of the devastation of climate change.
Climate change is threatening forests around the world and creating mass die-offs of once vibrant woodlands. They are referred to as ghost forests and this phenomena is becoming much more frequent as the climate changes more rapidly. The trees in Ghost Forest were suffering from of salt water infiltration and were being cleared as part of regeneration efforts in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, an extremely vulnerable site of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecosystem which encompasses more than one million acres.
As part of the installation, the artist and Madison Square Park Conservancy have planned a series of public programs throughout the run of the exhibition focused on nature-based solutions to climate change. For more info go to whatismissing.org for more information on nature based solutions to climate change.
Also, as part of the artwork the artist and Madison Square Park Conservancy are working with Natural Areas Conservancy who are planting 1,000 trees and shrubs within the 5 boroughs to offset the emissions caused by the creation of the artwork.
Maya Lin in conjunction with her Ghost Forest installation and her environmental initiative- What is Missing? along with Madison Square Park Conservancy has created a soundscape that highlights the sounds of some of the native species of animals that were once common to Manhattan. And an accompanying ghost forest timeline.
Related Press:
Medford, Sarah. Maya Lin Keeps Breaking New Ground. The Wall Street Journal (November 1, 2021)
Cotter, Holland. In Maya Lin’s ‘Ghost Forest,’ the Trees Are Talking Back. The New York Times (July 1, 2021)
Yerebakan, Osman Can. Maya Lin on planting a ghost forest in Manhattan. Art Forum (June 22, 2021)
Helfand, Zach. Maya Lin’s Ghost Forest in the Shadow of Shake Shack. The New Yorker (May 10, 2021)
Moffitt, Evan. Maya Lin Builds a Final Monument to the Climate, Frieze (April 28, 2021: Issue 219)
Di Liscia, Valentina. Maya Lin Erects a Ghostly Grove of Dead Trees in Manhattan, Hyperallergic (April 14, 2021)
Angeleti, Gabriella. Maya Lin’s 'ghost forest' will rise in Madison Square Park this spring. The Art Newspaper (February 9, 2021)
Franklyn, Sydney. Maya Lin will hang a grove of dead trees in Madison Square Park. The Architect’s Newspaper (November 19, 2019)
Pogrebin, Robin. Maya Lin to Conjure Dying Trees to Make a Point. The New York Times (November 14, 2019)