Clare Hewitt is a photographer, archivist and lecturer based in Birmingham, with a practice focusing on ideas related to loneliness, isolation, connection and collaboration.

 In 2019, a government report revealed that loneliness and isolation were increasing in Britain’s rural communities. Around the time of the report’s release, Hewitt was learning that trees thrive and communicate in sentient, connected communities. With the results of the report firmly in her mind, she began to explore what humans could learn from the interconnectedness of the forest. Working with a circle of twelve 180-year-old oak trees, which would have been acorns when photography was invented, Hewitt began to visualise their intelligent manifestation of community and exchange. The trees are situated at the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, the University of Birmingham’s multidisciplinary facility where researchers examine the impact of climate change on woodlands and trees.

Although oaks appear to be individual entities above ground, in the subterranean world they connect their roots with fungal networks to share nutrients and information. They identify and nurture their offspring, pass wisdom on to their young, and care for weak trees. They are home to countless creatures and feed themselves and others with the leaves they shed. In death, their decay supports their ecosystem for years. Inspired by the behaviour of the trees, Hewitt attempts to replicate their behaviour in her creative practice and life. She built 24 wooden pinhole cameras resembling bird boxes, installing two in each tree, and recorded large format exposures over periods from six months to four years. During lockdown in 2020, Hewitt identified people living around the forest who were lonely or isolated. She delivered monthly online workshops to nurture a creative network and teach the participants forest-based photographic skills. Mirroring the social, supportive behaviour of the trees through a collective interest in photography, the group formed lasting friendships.

On view at Peckham24 is a selection of 160 oak leaf lumen prints created on the forest floor, as well as a six-month long-exposure of the oak trees and a handmade pinhole camera. The display also includes panoramic images of the forest’s underground environment, in frames made from reclaimed scaffolding boards produced in collaboration with staff and apprentices at Birmingham based social enterprise, The Wood Shack.

Everything in the forest is the forest is presented by Impressions Gallery as a solo touring exhibition launching in May 2025, as part of Bradford 2025, UK City of Culture.