Tree Phenoplasticity transcribed into a choreography
Elias Blau & Haeyeon Lim © Maja Renn / Claudio Zenger
Supported by EPFL Sustainability, an exhibition at the EPFL Pavilions brings together art and science based on the work of the Plant Ecology Research Laboratory (PERL). Using human bodies, one of the featured artists chose to represent how trees adapt to their environment.
The term is uncommon, and so is the approach. Phenoplasticity refers to the ability of plants to modify their parts in response to environmental changes. This concept inspired artist and performer Maja Renn, whose work is on display from November 13 to January 5, 2025, at EPFL Pavilions alongside the creations of artist and designer Krzysztof Wronski. The project to place these two artists in residence at PERL (Plant Ecology Research Laboratory), directed by Professor Charlotte Grossiord, was initiated by the Climanosco association as part of its Dear2050 program, which mediates science through art.
Maja Renn’s installation features two dancers embodying two species of trees, the beech and the oak, illustrating their potential coexistence and their adaptations to surrounding elements. Unlike genetic changes, which occur over multiple generations, phenoplasticity enables immediate adaptations. For example, a tree growing in a dry environment might develop a sparser canopy to conserve water, whereas the same species in a wetter, denser environment would have a more abundant canopy to capture light.
Other examples include two trees growing side by side: the one reaching the canopy first will overshadow the other, prompting its neighbor to enlarge its leaves to capture more light. There is also a process called thigmomorphogenesis: a response to touch that allows plants to modify their growth when exposed to wind or other constraints, changing the thickness of their stems, leaf size, or overall structure.
This flexibility, observed at various levels from roots to leaves, enables plants to survive rapid environmental changes, even though their lifespans often exceed those of humans.
How to survive when you cannot move
Kate Johnson, who was previously at PERL and now works at CREAF in Barcelona, extensively discussed the topic with the artist and accompanied her creative process. She says that immobile species like trees tend to display greater phenotypic plasticity than mobile species because they cannot quickly or easily migrate to a new habitat.
This idea can offer humans a valuable lesson in adaptability and resilience, as we tend to cling to our habits and resist change even in the face of clear environmental and societal crises. Plants, on the other hand, are forced to adapt and innovate. The great variety of adaptations among species produced by many years of competition and evolution means that many tree and plant species can co-exist without direct conflict.
The exhibition includes several excerpts of conversations between Maja Renn and Kate Johnson, shedding light on how trees adapt - or fail to adapt - to their environment. Another key strategy trees use is phenological change, which involves modifying the timing of life events such as leafing, flowering, or fruiting. For instance, some species produce leaves earlier in the spring due to rising temperatures. “However, the rapid pace of climate change poses challenges, potentially outpacing the ability of many tree species to adapt naturally,” the exhibition notes.
Helping Nature
Through several humorous and ingenious devices, the other featured artist, Krzysztof Wronski, imagines quirky solutions to help nature threatened by climate change, highlighting both the resilience of living organisms and human responsibility.
The "Arboreal Futures" exhibition, bringing these two artists together at the EPFL Pavilions, is itself a fine example of adaptation and cooperation. Supported by EPFL Sustainability, it was born out of the Dear2050 program by Climanosco, an association founded by physicist Michel Bourqui in 2015 to make climate research accessible to the public. Its curator, Bettina Rohr, studied environmental sciences before specializing in artistic mediation.
This collaboration with the PERL lab has already resulted in another exhibition, “Entangled Forests”, involving around twenty artists, including the two featured at the EPFL Pavilions. This earlier exhibition was displayed in four cities across Switzerland between late 2023 and mid-2024.
In addition to regular calls for artists, the association publishes the open-access journal Climanosco Research Articles, with papers reviewed by committees composed of scientists and non-experts to ensure both their relevance and accessibility. The PERL team submitted an article currently under review, explaining how trees suffer from air dryness even when their roots have sufficient water. The increasing frequency of dry summers poses a danger for them in temperate climates.
Like its predecessor “Entangled Forests,” the "Arboreal Futures" exhibition confronts us with our human responsibilities. As explained on the exhibition walls, “Trees are not only resources or scenic backdrops, but critical allies in addressing environmental challenges. (…) We might begin to see trees as teachers of patience and interconnectedness, given their long lifespans and their role in connecting various elements of the ecosystem. Trees are a climate solution with an important role in carbon sequestration, temperature regulation, and mitigating the effects of climate change.”