Electrical Forest: Made in Troy is a dense constellation of actual felled trees, surrogate trees, handmade leaves, leafy projections, found objects, and mobile sculptures and lanterns. A site-specific work, the Forest invites the contemplation of nature, art, and the sublime—conjuring the regional history of the 19th century Hudson River School. Additionally, Fischer’s method of construction draws more specifically on Troy’s industrial legacy. The piece begins with a week long “Factory Phase,” during which Fischer transforms the Arts Center into an industrial production line. Volunteers from the community become workers who collectively make 10,000 unique leaves out of translucent acetate paper and gel color paints. After the factory has closed, Fischer will build Electrical Forest by recycling and retrofitting myriad discarded objects found in Troy. The dense canopy of hand-made leaves—a massive amount of fragmented film—shimmers like stained glass as natural and artificial light pulses through it.
Electrical Forest
