Forest and Frequency
Join us for a free screening of Forest and Frequency, shown for the first time since it was developed for the ground-breaking FOREST exhibition, which opened in May 2025 at Nottingham Castle.
In May 2025, Nottingham Castle launched their latest exhibition, FOREST. This fascinating exhibition exhibition delves into the myth and magic of arboreal art, exploring how this timeless and powerful totem can shape artistic thought and creative practices. It centres around Sherwood Forest and the Major Oak and concludes with scientific contributions and research from specialists at the University of Nottingham. This research and its intersections with the work by commissioned artist Caroline Locke are collated in Forest and Frequency, a film by Georgianna Scurfield, which will be shown at this screening for the first time since it premiered at Nottingham Castle.
Forest and Frequency is a series of four films by documentary maker Georgianna Scurfield that follow the Major Oak, artist Caroline Locke, and researchers from the University of Nottingham over the year in the lead-up to this exhibition.
Divided into four chapters to reflect the changing seasons, the film centres the Major Oak. It begins in summer 2024 as Locke works with University of Nottingham engineers to record the tree's natural frequency usingstate-of-the-art technology to scan and record specific data points. Subsequent films show the independent journeys of that data, both in the studio to inform Locke’s artistic work and on campus to create a 3D model from which researchers can calculate the vibration of the tree as it sways in the wind.
On return visits to Sherwood Forest, we are also introduced to researchers from different academic disciplines who share their insights and relationships with woodland ecosystems. Through conversations held in the forest, creative thinking and knowledge exchange, we see art, science and historical research intertwined in response to the presence of a single, ancient tree.
At this event, attendees will have the opportunity to see the film in its entirety for the first time and also ask questions of the artists, academics and professional staff that created the project to bring the mysteries of Sherwood Forest to life.
Programme:
- 4-5pm Café open until 5pm when the screening starts.
- 5-5:10 Brief intro from Mark Rawlinson.
- 5:10-5:30 film screening.
- 5:30-6 Panel discussion with contributors (artist, film maker, and key academics) and Q&A.
- 6pm event ends and Lakeside closes.
Please note that due to the nature of this event it will not be possible to allow latecomers into the screening so please arrive promptly for 5pm. This is a ticketed event so please ensure that you book in advance and bring your ticket confirmation with you on the day to gain access.