Ida Leijting

The Moving Forest explores how nationalist narratives and mythologies merge political power with ideas of natural (dis)harmony. Inspired by Macbeth’s defeat by branch-bearing soldiers who mimic a moving forest, the installation uses omnidirectional screens showing artificial military lookout trees. Through camouflage, repetition, and visual deceit, it examines observation, inside/outside boundaries, and how imagined enemies are perceived and othered.

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The Moving Forest is an installation that explores how nationalist narratives and mythologies merge political power with ideas of natural (dis)harmony. Its title references the moment Shakespeare’s Macbeth is defeated by an army of disguised branch-bearing soldiers, mimicking a forest on the move. They have set out to restore the `natural order’ that Macbeth has disrupted by murdering the supposed rightful king. The installation uses omnidirectional screens showing artificial military lookout trees. Through camouflage, repetition, and visual deceit, it examines observation, inside/outside boundaries, and how imagined enemies are perceived and othered.

“The sky murmurs with a low muffled thunder as I walk through the Hague Forest. I can make out the stairs of the royal residence in the far-off distance”.

Website: idaleijting.com
Instagram: @idaleijting