kingdom of moss

These are some of the images from an ongoing research into capturing tactile qualities in moving image. This forest, covered in lichen and moss, was the perfect subject, given its tactile appeal, especially after days of rain. Trees here are dressed in a myriad of shades of green, strange beings, quivering with anticipation…ready to assume a different role…

The different textures and densities of moss and lichen have given me interesting ideas for the Journey to the Interior project I am currently developing. I could so easily imagine professor Lidenbrock encountering this strange world in some underground cavern on his way to the centre of the Earth.

It’s also interesting to observe the shifts in scale, at times the micro and macro worlds are almost indistinguishable…

Here a little moving image and sound edit, as filmed on my phone…to give a sense of the overall atmosphere. While the trees are rooted in the ground, the forest is an animate being, on the verge of breaking into a dance.

Location: Crayssac, Midi-Pyrenees region, France.

Images by Tereza Stehlikova