By Ashley Bouman

Imagine yourself walking through a display of extremely large tree trunks in the centre of a thriving metropolis, completely out of their natural element, typically discarded because the roots are useless. These remains may remind you of tangled up pieces of rope, or a visually stimulating statement about conservation. What kind of feelings would this evoke? What would it make you think about? Angela Palmer's intention for her Ghost Forest Art Project is about the connection of climate change and deforestation. To create the Ghost Forest Project, Palmer has collected various commercially-logged rain forest tree stumps from Ghana with the buttress roots attached. The shown opened at Trafalgar Square in London, England on November 16, 2009 and ran until November 22. To coincide with the UN's COP15 Climate Change Conference, the project was then moved to the Thorvaldsens Plads museum in Copenhagen from December 7 to the 18th. Seven indigenous species of trees were represented: Denya, Dahuma, Danta, Hyedua, Mahogany, Wawa and three varieties of Celtis.

Art has been used as a tool in political activism and creating social awareness for centuries. It has always been inspirational and is interpreted in different ways. Some people may see these stumps as beautiful, naturally crafted sculptures, while others will see the underlying message of the devastation of deforestation and be outraged. Perhaps the display will inspire people to be more conscious of their impact on the environment. Palmer's vision was to take the negative space created from the missing trunks and use it as a metaphor for climate change; the absence signifies the removal of the world's lungs through continued deforestation.

The stumps were uprooted naturally from harsh weather conditions in the Suhuma Forest Reserve located in the Congo Basin, which is in Western Ghana. It is 3,000 miles south of Trafalgar Square and the closest rainforest to Europe. Unfortunately, due to illegal deforestation, Ghana has lost 90% of its primary rainforest in the last 50 years. Due to such an extreme decline, the country has introduced strict regulations for sustainable and responsible forestry. Ghana was also the first country in Africa to enter the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union, the goal of which is to outlaw illegal logging and stop the export of illegal timber.

The concept for this project and interest in climate change came to Palmer in a dream where she first visited the most polluted place on the planet, and then the cleanest place on the planet, all while wearing a white outfit. In the dream, she took her findings and exhibited them in a stark white gallery. She woke up with the determination to do just that. Shortly after her dream, she travelled to the most polluted place on Earth - Linfen, China - for a week. At the heart of China's coal mining region, official surveys indicate this area to have the world's most polluted air and water. The city has become dust-covered and smoggy due to the coal-burning power plants which create an unpleasant surrounding for the population and the environment. Palmer then visited Cape Grim, located at the northwest tip of Tasmania, which is considered to be the cleanest place in the world due to the benefits of the cleansing winds of the "Roaring Forties," strong westerly winds located in the Southern Hemisphere, predominately in the bottom area of the Indian Ocean. Palmer wore white during her journey and brought back photographs, film, and water and air samples. She combined these materials and produced an art show entitled "Breathing In" at the Royal College of Art in London. Her work goes beyond just taking pictures and usually involves a heavily researched and scientifically-supported analysis. The narratives of her work are accompanied by many months of investigation and many specialists. Such dedication to the presentation of knowledge comes from her background in journalism which emphasises the clear messages of her art projects. The more people realise the damage and destruction deforestation causes, the more people will realise that climate change is a serious issue.

The project's main sponsor is the Deutsche Bank; other sponsors are Art Council England, the Global Canopy Programme, Oxford University's Environmental Change Institute, the Oxford Centre for Tropical Forests and many other charities and companies. The Ghost Forest Project is still actively looking for funds, and a donation can be made on the project's website, http://www.ghostforest.org/. Palmer proclaims that she is extremely grateful for any donation, no matter how small.

Climate Change is a currently a hot topic, as it should be. The implications of climate change could impact how we will continue to live on this planet. However, the fact of the matter is whether the issue is being taken seriously or not. Many skeptics will say that nothing is wrong, and we should continue doing what we are doing, but Angela Palmer's statement goes beyond that. As humans, she points out, we are endangering the very place where we live. Everyone needs to do his or her part to help and not annihilate the environment. The future needs to be taken seriously. Hopefully, those fortunate enough to experience The Ghost Forest will understand what needs to be done in order to reduce their own carbon footprints and help stop illegal deforestation. Even the slightest change to one's lifestyle can help.