Canopy of Thoughts

• Location:  London, United Kingdom (UK)
• Area:  Online; research participants based in the Shoalhaven, Australia
• Year:  2021
• Work Type:  Student
• Institute:  Architectural Association
• Status:  Built
• Team Members:  Elyssa Sykes-Smith, Centre for the Study of Substructured Loss, Nigel Christensen, Pascal Emmeran, and anonymous research participants.
• Instructor:  Theo Lorenz

Canopy of Thoughts is an ongoing climate psychology project that exists in iterative recreations in a variety of materials and locations. It approaches
the topic of environmental sustainability as a human rights issue and aims to highlight the impact of the global climate crisis on mental health. The
artwork visually depicts a protagonist negotiating an overwhelming haze of uncertainty, a suspended canopy of criss-crossing thoughts and
emotions. The concept was initiated in 2015 as an ephemeral artwork titled A Canopy of Thoughts using reclaimed wood, followed by another
ephemeral recreated in 2021 titled Canopy of Thoughts Film as a paper installation film set for Sykes-Smith's final MFA project at the Architectural Association
(AA).

Canopy of Thoughts (2021), was constructed as an arts-based-health research project, grounded in scientific, theoretical and artistic
research, and working from the following problem question: “How to define and measure experiences of dissociation through the metaphorical
relationship of protagonist and narrative utilising concept mapping techniques and sensory aspects to understand the role of embodiment in climate
psychology?”.

A select group of participants impacted by the Australian bush fire season of 2019-2020 were invited to participate in the study which included concept mapping sessions and recorded interviews with participants regarding their experiences. The data collected has been processed into a prose-based script, performance, soundscape and an audio-visual screen-based artwork for Sykes-Smith's final MFA thesis submission. Contact Elyssa Sykes-Smith to access the film or research summary: elyssasykessmith@gmail.com