Oma forest (“Bosque de Oma” in Spanish) is a work of art created by Agustin Ibarrola, a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

sculptor and painter. It was painted between 1982 and 1985. The work is located in northern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, in a forest near Kortezubi (Bizkaia, Basque Country), in the natural reserve of

Urdaibai The Urdaibai estuary is a natural region and a Biosphere Reserve of Biscay, Basque Country, Spain. It is also referred as Mundaka or Gernika estuary. Urdaibai is located on the Bay of Biscay coast, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Urdaiba ...

. It’s located very close to the

Santimamiñe Santimamiñe cave, Kortezubi, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain, is one of the most important archaeological sites of the Basque Country, including a nearly complete sequence from the Middle Paleolithic to the Iron Age. Its complete sequence inclu ...

cave. It is also known as the "painted forest," or “Bosque Animado” which means “animated forest” in Spanish. The work is considered part of the Land Art movement. Most of the trees are

Monterey pine ''Pinus radiata'' ( syn. ''Pinus insignis''), the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California and Mexico ( Guadalupe Island and Cedros island). It is an evergreen conifer in the f ...

s. The projects aims to display the horrible and ghastly harmony between nature and human presence by painting on the trunks of trees, human figures, animals and geometric shapes, some of which are visible only from certain positions. Agustin Ibarrola was inspired by the cave art in the nearby Santimamiñe caves, and he wanted to paint on natural structures with the same technique that cave people used to paint on natural rock formations.

Relocation

In 2019, a fungal disease known as “brown band” began killing the painted trees, and this disease affected the bark of the trees and ruined the paintings. The Provincial Council of Bizkaia decided to reproduce the artwork in the nearby Basobarri Forest. The reproduction and relocation began around June 2022. The reproduced and relocated art installation won’t be available for public viewing in its entirety until the summer of 2023. The new collection will have 200 more painted pine trees than the old collection. In addition, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia claims that the new Oma Forest will be more sustainable, have greater accessibility, better maintenance, and that there will be safety systems to act upon in case of a fire or other emergency.

Vandalism

Agustin is a member of “Basta Ya", a group which aims to aid victims of terrorism. Some 100 trees of the natural reserve were destroyed in 2000 and Oma forest was damaged to protest his stand. In 2003, 40 pine trees in Oma forest were vandalized for the same reason.

In popular culture

* In ''

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and are 2022 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company for the Nintendo Switch. They are the first instalments in the ninth generation of the ''Pokémon'' video game series. First an ...

'', Grafaiai is a Poison/Normal type lemur-like Pokémon known for using its saliva to paint trees with elaborate patterns similar to those found in Oma forest, in order to mark its territory and lure its prey. Grafaiai is native to the Paldea region, which heavily resembles the

. ** The Tagtree Thicket is most likely inspired by Oma forest, and wild Grafaiai can be found there. * Spanish playwright Pedro Víllora placed the setting of his tragedy ''Electra'' in Oma forest. Oma3

External links

Omako basoa. Bizkaia.net

Omako Basoa. Euskadiko Turismo Bulegoa

References

{{coord, 43, 19, 55, N, 2, 37, 04, W, region:ES_source:kolossus-euwiki, display=title Basque art Land art