These surviving, fire-tolerant aspens are a part of an ecosystem that is rich in biodiversity. They are hosts to many species, providing nutrients and protection to their habitats. Moist leaves, thick twigs, and high water content allow aspen trees to resist fire; and if a fire does burn through the grove, thousands of new suckers can sprout. Interconnected Displacement reveals a complex web of interacting, opposing forces such as, host vs. prey, home vs. dystopia, and longevity vs. fragility. Hidden below this family of aspen trees is a web of fungal connections, a mycorrhizal network, that allows them to communicate, share water and nutrients, and help each other survive. These slow-pulsing electrical signals are metaphors for the “invisible” ways in which interconnection occurs in our lives as a community, promoting affection, empathy, and responsiveness. 

Sarah Wallace Scott and Anna Kaye immerse their individual creative practices in the natural world to promote a greater understanding and appreciation of the interconnectivity between living things and humanity’s ecological footprint. Through natural explorations and observational realism, Scott’s sculpture and Kaye’s drawing intermingle to create verdant narratives. Their collaboration evolved through meetings, emails, phone calls, studio visits, seed exchanges, and inspirations with Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees. Their collaboration was a multi-layered exploration in which a fusion of ideas and creative approaches occurred. Their process inspired inquisitive discussions and observations, a profound jump into the unknown, the bending/flexing of methods/ideas, and a celebration of their strengths and expressions. Through social distancing, the pandemic emphasized ways in which we are all connected through our human-made "electric signals," technology helped them to re-connect.