A Forest of Coexistence

For Edmonton artist Eunna Oh the forest is more than a physical or ecological space. It is somewhere that holds memory, culture and ancestry. Her understanding of the forest is informed by Korean spirituality and cultural identity. All forests are deeply alive, with every element considered to have a soul, regardless of whether it is animate or inanimate. Together the elements of the forest form a beautifully interconnected whole. 

A Forest of Coexistence journeys through the natural cycles and rhythms of nature. The seasons changes steadily, a constant cycle of life, death and renewal. All of Eunna’s work begins in the forest, taking photographs across Alberta and British Columbia. In the studio she stitches into the photographs, patiently adding thread to the gills of mushrooms or following the ridgeline of a mountain. With paint and screen printing, she adds to the image, bridging an imaginary world with the wonder she found already thriving on the forest floor.   

Here we remember that we are part of a wide, living, vibrant world - connected and belonging. We seek out the forest, retreating to it, breathing it in deeply for treasured moments. But the forest does not simply exist for us. We are part of it, bound to it, sharing a fate. Within A Forest of Coexistence, Eunna hopes to ground us in the wisdom that we do not exist separately from the natural world, and so we must all work to build a future where nature and humanity can exist in true harmony. 

Eunna Oh, Mushroom Series 4, 2025, digital printing, acrylic paint, needlework on Canvas; Eunna Oh, Mushroom Series 5, 2025, digital printing, acrylic paint, needlework on canvas; Eunna Oh, Mushroom Series 6, 2025, digital printing, acrylic paint, needlework on canvas; Eunna Oh, Rainforest series 3, 2025, digital printing, acrylic paint, needlework and tufting on Canvas; Eunna Oh, Rainforest series 4, 2025, digital printing, acrylic paint, needlework and tufting on canvas; Portrait of Eunna Oh, 2025. Courtesy of the artist.