British designer Es Devlin will unveil a temporary installation of 197 trees and plant species to highlight issues related to climate change during the COP26 conference.
Called Conference of the Trees, the installation will be presented at The New York Times Climate Hub at the SWG3 Arts Centre in Glasgow, an event running alongside the COP26 climate conference to be held in the city this November.
Artist and stage designer Devlin designed the installation to coincide with the conference involving 197 parties who signed the 1994 United Nations Climate Change treaty, who will gather again at COP26 for 12 days of talks centred on how to tackle the increasing climate crisis.
Creating space for reflection
Conference of the Trees will bring together 197 trees and plants positioned around a low-lit clearing, which will also house chairs to seat audiences attending a series of events held within the installation. According to Devlin, the project is intended to counter the atmosphere of ordinary conference rooms, which are traditionally top-lit and rectilinear spaces.

"Having read Richard Powers' book The Overstory, I began to consider trees as protagonists, as they are within the context of this extraordinary novel," the designer told Dezeen.
"I wanted to view the conference of the parties from the perspective of a non-human species bearing witness to the decisions the humans might make."
Installation follows previous work in London
Devlin's work will follow he...