Land Art Vol I. The Enchantment of Oma Forest.
Land Art Vol I. The Enchantment of Oma Forest.
A Personal Encounter with Euskadi and Agustín Ibarrola’s Land Art
When you think about art, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Please close your eyes and think about this question for a minute. What came to mind?
You probably thought about a room in a museum or a gallery, likely with white walls and some paintings, big or small, hanging on them. That was my first thought.
Perhaps you thought about a movie that made a significant impact on you, or a song, or an album that, to this date, when you listen to it, makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
Maybe you are a photographer and a specific image from a famous photographer like Anton Corbijn or Sebastião Salgado travelled through your synapses.
When we reflect on how traditional forms of art like paintings, films, and photography shape our understanding, it's clear that our cultural perceptions are often confined to galleries and conventional spaces.
However, there is a whole world of art that interacts directly with the landscape itself, pushing the boundaries of how and where art can be experienced.
Early in January, I wrote about Art in Unlikely Places; in one of the segments of that post, I described some projects about Art Placed in Nature, but I felt I could have expanded quite a bit more on this art discipline, so here I am.
In this first volume on Land Art, I will explore the work of Agustín Ibarrola, a Basque artist and sculptor known for his political activism against Franco's regime and his transformative impact on landscapes.
I'll specifically focus on the Oma Forest, one of his most emblematic creations, which I had the privilege of visiting and experiencing.
But first, let's talk about what Land Art is.
A Brief Introduction to Land Art
Land art is an art movement that uses nature as its canvas. It emerged in the 1960s, a time when people were becoming more aware of environmental issues and cultural changes. This type of art was a way to move beyond traditional indoor galleries and change how artists interact with the natural world.
Artists who pioneered land art left their studios to work in nature, using the earth, rocks, and terrain to create large artworks. Artists like Robert Smithson, Michael Heizer, and Nancy Holt didn’t just observe nature—they made it part of their art, often showing how natural forces like decay and growth change their art over time.
Land art helps us connect with nature on a basic level, telling stories about time, change, and human impact. Famous pieces like Smithson's "Spiral Jetty" and Heizer's "Double Negative" encourage people to think about the large scale of these works and how they fit into the surrounding environment.
These artworks change over time; they wear away and may even disappear, reflecting the natural cycles of the earth.
Land art also has a message. It encourages us to view the environment as an active part of our artistic expression, not just a background. It raises important discussions about how we use land, environmental issues, and conservation, reaching beyond the art world into environmental and policy discussions.
Today’s artists continue to build on the ideas of land art, addressing current issues like climate change and sustainability. They innovate by using organic and recycled materials and involve communities in caring for the environment through art.
In this way, land art continues to be an important part of modern art, building new connections between people and the planet, and reminding us of our collective responsibility to care for our world.
Ibarrola’s Land Art Work
Ibarrola's story begins during a time of political chaos. As a young man, he resisted Franco's oppressive government by joining the Communist Party. This choice led to his arrest and trial in a military court. Despite these challenges, he remained determined, and these experiences greatly influenced his art.
In the 1970s, his farmhouse and studio were set on fire by far-right extremists. Even this did not break his spirit; instead, it deepened his resolve. Ibarrola became key in fighting against ETA's terrorism and helped start the '¡Basta Ya!' movement and the Ermua Forum, which aimed to bring peace to the Basque Country.
By the 1980s, Ibarrola started focusing on merging art with nature. His early work on bending spaces and exploring contrasts like positive-negative and inside-outside laid the foundation for his unique style of turning landscapes into "living" art.
Oma Forest
One of his most famous works is the Oma Forest near Gernika.
In this project, he turned trees into canvases, painting them with bright colors to offer visitors an engaging experience. He transformed simple white lines on the trees into complex images, challenging traditional views of art.
This creative approach inspired playwright Pedro Víllora to set his play "Electra in Oma" within these painted woods, showcasing the transformative effect of Ibarrola's art.
Ibarrola also played with how trees were arranged, using their placement to create intricate artworks that included human shapes and various lines, all filled with vivid colors.
His art grew more complex over time, with help from two students. It remained open to the public until 2018, when the forest naturally began to degrade.
Recognizing the importance of the Oma Forest, the Biscay Government started a preservation effort, which Ibarrola supported from the beginning. The artwork was moved, and many damaged pieces were restored.
Following the success of the Oma project, Ibarrola began a new venture, the "Enchanted Forest" in Salamanca. There, he revitalized a group of dying elm trees, painting their trunks brightly. Although this installation was eventually dismantled due to weather damage, its impact was memorable.
Not all reactions to his work were positive. In 1993 and 2000, some of his installations were vandalized, reflecting the divisive political climate in Spain at the time. Despite these challenges, Ibarrola's dedication remained strong.
In 2006, Logroño commissioned him to create a memorial for victims of terrorism, which was unveiled in 2008. This memorial reinforced his role as a committed artist and a symbol of remembrance and resistance.
Ibarrola’s art and activism have reshaped not only the landscapes he worked on but also the cultural and political contexts of his era. His works, both beautiful and meaningful, continue to inspire and challenge, reminding us of the power of art to effect change and honour history.
A visit to remember.
A few years back, when I travelled much more, my brother from another mother invited me to visit one of the most outstanding artistic sites I have ever seen. I will always be grateful for that - Ezkerrik Asko Hugo.
Sadly, as explained earlier, the section of Oma Forest I got to see no longer exists; instead, a new section of his work is now expanding and being preserved in a different location within the forest. I find comfort in thinking that the disappearance and relocation of the section I experienced truly connects with the ethos of the Land Art movement.
Oma Forest was an experience unlike any other I've had the privilege to witness firsthand. As I was trying to write about it for this post, the word that kept coming back was “magic,” and while I understand this may sound cliché, believe me when I say, it isn’t.
Oma’s forest encapsulates so many layers of history, personal suffering, and activism that when you set foot in the forest, you can do nothing other than marvel at the trees dancing with the wind, while naïve motifs, concentric circles, lines, and colorful symbols appear as if someone had made sure only people with the right spell could invoke them.
I remember we were silent for most of the walk, trying to observe the different shapes and figures that would become apparent depending on the angle from which you viewed the trees.
I was looking across with my camera, quietly taking shots. Regrettably, part of my archive is now lost due to a hard drive failure. The next photographs are some of the handful that survived, trying to capture the incredible and magnificent spectacle in front of my eyes.
At one point, I remember closing my eyes while sitting on a stone, listening to the leaves, in harmony with nature, the sun shining on my face, wishing that I could have been part of such an incredible project.
I then opened my eyes and looked around. For a few seconds, I couldn’t place myself, as if I had lost any notion of time and space. Then, I noticed an eye (see photograph below) contrasting with the green of the leaves, as if it was trying to tell me something I didn’t know or point me to a place where the magic of this incredible site originated.
Little did I know that less than a 15-minute walk from the forest, there lies a cave with Neolithic paintings and remains that go back 14,000 years. Within the depths of Santimamiñe’s Cave, a hidden gallery of prehistoric art reveals itself, featuring a total of 47 animal paintings.
As one ventures into the cave, the artistry of our ancestors becomes apparent. The figures, all painted in stark monochrome black using charcoal, depict a range of creatures that roamed the earth millennia ago.
The collection includes 32 bison, seven caprids, six horses, one deer, and one bear, each rendered with a simplicity that speaks to the sophistication of early human expression.
I cannot think of a better way to connect the past and the present. Agustin Ibarrola’s son, Jose Ibarrola, talks about how his father imagined his work in Oma’s Forest as a tribute to Santimamiñe’s cave, the history and the magic of the place:
“My father had conceived the forest as a tribute to Santimamiñe, to Gernika, a crossroads of trends in the country, from modernity to prehistory.”
Unsurprisingly, the site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
These mountains, this forest, this artist, and my experiences have led me to believe that this ancient place is steeped in myths, some known, some hidden.
It suggests that the ancient art on the cave walls and Agustin Ibarrola's work are part of the same magical ecosystem that continues to grow in mysticism as the years pass.
I wonder if, once upon a time, our ancestors painted the trees to celebrate the summer solstice and if Agustin Ibarrola, walking through the forest, deciphered the invisible signs, harnessed the magic, and used it to create one of the most wonderful examples of land art.
This concludes my humble tribute to this region, its history, and Agustin Ibarrola, not to mention the beautiful friendship that brought me here.
Thank you for reading and staying along.
Until next time, By any art necessary.