“Ghost Forest presents two striking alternatives within the context of Madison Square Park— the ashen trees standing in contrast to the vibrancy of the park,” said Brooke Kamin Rapaport, Deputy Director and Martin Friedman Chief Curator of Madison Square Park Conservancy. “Maya’s installation underscores the concept of transience and fragility in the natural world and stands as a grave reminder of the consequences of inaction to the climate crisis and poor land-use practices. Within a minimal visual language of austerity and starkness, Maya brings her role as an environmental activist and her vision as an artist to this work.”

49 Atlantic white cedar trees are the center of the installation. The trees come from the Pine Barrens in New Jersey, where the trees were inundated and killed from saltwater.

Lin told Christiane Amanpour that she wanted to bring the forest to Manhattan to raise awareness of the “huge loss that is going on that people might not be aware of.”

Read more about eco-art in One Green Planet, check out “The Plastic Bag Store,” a marine cemetery in India, an art installation of airplane parts, an underwater eco-museum, eco-feminist artists, an eco-friendly street artist, the artists creating Chilean landscapes with plastic waste, and art installations for climate change.

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