From the 4th to the 30th of June, the Natural History and Science Museum of the University of Porto hosts, in the Hall of Biodiversity – Ciência Viva Center the exhibition Rewilding Time, the latest addition to the ongoing artistic project Eternal Forest – creating 1,000 forest sanctuaries protected for 1,000 years – by artist and poet Evgenia Emets.

Rewilding Time shows an artist's reflection about the forest ecosystems, their biodiversity, complexity, aptitude and the intrinsic value of the wild. The exhibition invites us to contemplate the story of a forest: from its intricate beginnings to its growth into a well-established ecosystem as an old-growth forest.

Today, the fundamental integrity of forests is under threat worldwide. There are only a few old-growth forests left, and they are increasingly scarce, especially in Portugal, where these ecosystems have a long history of alteration and fragmentation. Here, the small pockets of natural habitats struggle to support flourishing ecosystems, ensuring the survival of key and threatened plant and animal species that may reach the verge of extinction.

In Rewilding Time, the complexity and interconnectivity of the forest are revealed through an investigation of one particular habitat: the Galician-Portuguese oak woods, characterized by species such as Quercus orocantabrica and Quercus pyrenaica. This is a priority habitat for the Iberian wolf, which plays a crucial role in the health and equilibrium of the ecosystem. Thus, the forest is portrayed as an ongoing ecological process, marked by increasing and gradual complexity.

Exploring these perspectives, Rewilding Time spans several spaces: interconnecting the Botanical Garden of the University of Porto, two protected forest areas – Corno do Bico and Peneda Gerês National Park – and the Hall of Biodiversity. The Botanical Garden features a site-specific art trail and experience, based on artistic research in the protected forest areas.

The installation at the Hall of Biodiversity, in turn, offers a deeper understanding of the interplay of forest organisms through a film created in collaboration with Tiago Lobo, along with mappings and official nature conservation documents. As a whole, Rewilding Time invites us to approach forest restoration and protection from a place of reverence, encouraging reflection on how we can live in reciprocity with the forest.
Rewilding Time was developed in collaboration with scientists and researchers from the Natural History and Science Museum of the University of Porto, in particular the Botanical Garden of the University of Porto, and BIOPOLIS-CIBIO forming a multidisciplinary practice, driven by recent scientific research in ecosystem restoration and protection.