The Baron in the Trees is a 1957 novel by Italian writer Italo Calvino. Described as a Philosophical fiction and a metaphor for independence, it tells the adventures of a boy who climbs up a tree to spend the rest of his life inhabiting an arboreal kingdom. During my residency, I discovered many schools are local to this area, which gave me a lot of inspiration. The world of teenagers is always full of imagination, and they have a unique perspective of self-observation, an enlarged, subjective, and even slightly melancholy experience. Adults always sing the praises of youth and long for the past and dissatisfaction with the present. Children and teenagers live in the poetry without realising it until they grow up. This conflict and fusion between self and reality is an experience that everyone has.
Fortunately, I invited a 15-year-old boy named Gustav to share a dream with me -- his adventures with two friends in a tropical rainforest, with a giant baby, Aborigines, traps and hunting... Everything is so vivid! His contribution helped me focus on exploring the mental state of this young group, experiencing these 'unfinished adult' daydreams; I hope to reflect on real problems through fictional stories and arouse the audience's awareness of their spiritual world.
《树上的男爵》是意大利作家伊塔洛·卡尔维诺于1957年创作的小说。被描述为哲学小说，同时也是对独立的隐喻，它讲述了一个男孩攀上树木，决定在那里度过余生，统治一片树上的王国的冒险故事。在我的驻地项目中，我发现许多学校都位于这个地区，这给了我很多灵感。青少年的世界总是充满想象力，他们对自我观察有着独特的视角，一种放大的、主观的，甚至略带忧郁的体验。成年人总是歌颂青春并向往过去，对现在感到不满。儿童和青少年生活在诗意中，直到他们长大才会意识到。自我与现实之间的这种冲突和融合是每个人都经历过的经验。
幸运的是，我邀请到了一个名叫古斯塔夫的15岁男孩与我分享一个梦想——他与两个朋友在热带雨林中的冒险，有着巨大的婴儿、土著、陷阱和狩猎……一切都如此生动！他的贡献帮助我专注于探索这个年轻群体的心理状态，体验这些“未完成的成年人”白日梦；我希望通过虚构的故事反思真实的问题，唤起观众对他们内在世界的关注。
*Residency project at FoundationB.A.D, Rotterdam/ Supported by Mondriaan Fonds
