TIME TRAVEL CREATION

It wasn’t long before an oak leaf landed on the sixth segment of the cloth and a fly briefly touched down between the first and second segments. These were our indicators, not to tell our fortune, but to give us creative prompts within an ecological framework.

Some might ask why we bother going out to use the Field Notes, suggesting we could simply turn to AI for creative inspiration. We believe there’s a time and a place for both. This day in the woods and park was unique, filled with the specific illumination of a November day, with its low, bright light, long shadows, and defined rays of sunshine streaming through the branches. This magical quality, along with the crisp chill in the air, provided inspiration we couldn’t find anywhere else.

Consulting the guidebook to interpret our readings, we focused on the concepts of symbiotic partnerships, the environment alive with minds, and the unseen exchanges between the surrounding elements and our own minds. As we walked, these prompts allowed us to notice small details we might have otherwise missed, like the fungi growing in a fallen tree and the living fence composed of branches, brush, moss, and lichen.

Leaving the woods, we entered the more formal setting of a park. There we stumbled upon something truly unexpected: signage we had designed for the park back in 2015. It felt strange to encounter this project from our past, installed by the park council workers years ago.

As we continued our walk, guided by the prompts from the Field Notes, some information attracted us. This information related to the “White Garden,” originally designed in 1913, and specifically to a Magnolia Grandiflora tree, commonly known as “Bull Bay.” The sign told the story of magnolias as an ancient and the first flowering plant. They existed in the Cretaceous period (95 million years ago) during the time of the dinosaurs and appears in the fossil record. The sign explained that because the magnolia predated the evolution of bees, it developed a unique pollination relationship with a flightless beetle.

The magnolia’s story fascinated us. It had adapted to the changing world, its partnership for survival shifting over time from beetle to bee. It made us wonder: might we one day be called upon to become partners to other species if their current companions go extinct? Will we face decisions about which species to save, and what will be lost?

The information on the sign, combined with the reading from the Field Notes, sent us on a journey through time. We traveled back to the prehistoric relationship between magnolia and beetle and also to the time when we created those signs, almost a decade prior. The Field Notes prompt, “how can the environment feed the mind?” took on new meaning. We realised the information on that signage, compiled in 2015, was now feeding our minds in 2024. Similarly, the magnolias, planted in 1913, provided a valuable lesson about changing climates and evolving environments.

Inspired by this experience, we considered what other features in our environment could inspire the mind and our experience of the continual state of flow. We thought about the possible loss of something vital to future realities and asked ourselves what we should cherish and protect in the face of change and potential extinction. The magnolia taught us that in an interconnected world, everything has a place and is vital. While human actions often accelerate the pace of change, the magnolia shows that, given time, new partnerships can emerge to ensure mutual survival. Can we help give other species time to adapt? Is it possible to create places of refuge so that natural evolution can keep pace with rapid change? Can we slow down the current pace of change?

Just as we had unknowingly left behind inspiration for our present selves in the form of the signage, we wondered how can we shape our environments to inspire our future selves? What information can we “seed” into the landscape for those who come after us? Could we view these actions as preparing for unknown future times?

Our day began with a simple reading from the Field Notes and ended with thoughts of time travel and the possibility of laying down inspiration in the landscape to guide our future selves. We realised that the “signs” for future time travellers might not be physical signs such as these, but could be something as simple as a plant. Just as the magnolia attracted new partners to ensure its survival, perhaps the inspiration we leave in the environment could act as a beacon for others, fostering new partnerships and ensuring mutual survival for generations to come.

Purchase your copy of the Field Notes of the Biota Beings: Forest Fields here.

A linocut print of the flightless pollinator beetle is available from our shop here