EAB is short for Emerald Ash Borer, a tiny, iridescent green beetle that feasts on the flesh of Ash trees (Fraxinus spp.). Before EAB, Ash dominated the North American forest, however, in places like New York, you’re more likely to see them dead than alive.
The EAB Gallery project serves as a means of understanding plant-fungal ecologies in the face of climate change and ecosystem disturbance. As a speculative investigation, the relationship between Ash Trees, Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), and the Honey Mushroom was curated within an offsite observatory so that this unique succession could be revealed and discussed.
EAB is short for Emerald Ash Borer, a tiny, iridescent green beetle that feasts on the flesh of Ash trees (Fraxinus spp.). Before EAB, Ash dominated the North American forest, however, in places like New York, you’re more likely to see them dead than alive. An EAB Gallery is a term used to describe an ash-dominant forest stand where the effects of an EAB attack can be observed.
Serving as an art installation and laboratory, the offsite EAB Gallery enables an intimate view of succession formed by the presence of EAB and the consequent restructuring of an Ash Forest ecology. It is a space to speculate on the future of the forest, one that considers the predator-prey dynamics in play at both the macro and micro scales. Research shows that an increase in fungal interaction with Ash Trees might also be their saving grace, so while the tree may not survive, there is hope for the forest.
