WOLLEMI PINE

The Wollemi pine (Wollemia nobilis) is an ancient conifer regarded as a “living fossil”, its age being comparable to that of the extinct dinosaurs. Wollemi pines known only through fossil records until the Australian species Wollemia nobilis was discovered in 1994 in a temperate rainforest wilderness area of the Wollemi National Park in New South Wales, in a remote series of narrow, steep-sided sandstone gorges northwest of Sydney. The genus is named after the National Park.

Working with Wollemi Pine Olga Kisseleva uses the possibilities of saving an ancient plant thanks to the T2T system. Through the T2T network, Olga Kisseleva has established a connection with the ancient trees, beginning to adapt them to the contemporary natural environment.

In this way, the project now helps to reconstruct the ancient forest and the historical landscape, in addition to perfecting the T2T network. In the process of reviving the Wollemi pine, the scientists and artists are exposing the hidden capabilities of the trees themselves. The information obtained by the tree during the art&science experiment helps it utilize the new “knowledge” to battle pests, bacteria, and pathogens. At the same time, the tree is not subjected to any physical influence. The experimenters have no need of cutting branches, tearing off leaves, or burning the plant. Olga Kisseleva’s artistic strategy is based on two principles: first, refraining from damaging the ancient pine at all costs; and second, minimizing the extent of physical manipulations involving the body of the tree.

In the process of this unique experiment, the related cedars “exchanged” information about the prospects of survival in an urban environment (Chateaubriand’s cedar) and in the wild (the Japanese cedars and the Wollemi pine). The trees were able to “learn” and “teach”. In this way, the ability to communicate with plants and monitor their condition in an “online” mode was increased. The results of the experiment have enabled the scientists to more accurately track the information received from the trees, as well as begin to perfect the T2T network itself.