From Ecuador’s Misty Forests to Berlin: Isadora Romero and Notes on How to Build a Forest

As you step through the doors of C/O Berlin on Hardenbergstrasse, the noise of the city gives way to the whispers of a distant geography. With “Notes on How to Build a Forest,” Isadora Romero transports us to the mysterious cloud forests of Ecuador, to those ancient lands where clouds embrace the branches of trees. This exhibition is not merely a selection of photographs; it is a living story in which nature, humanity, and memory intertwine—one that fades with time and is reborn again.

In this project, Romero collaborates closely with local communities and scientists, treating the forest not as a mere landscape but as a living organism and a cultural heritage. Conducted in two distinct cloud forests of Ecuador, the work questions the place of sustainable agricultural practices and agroecological methods in the relationship between humans and nature. Building a bridge between the legacy of the past and the uncertainty of the future, the artist lays bare how plants, animals, and environmental conditions are inextricably linked.

The techniques Romero employs are as diverse and innovative as the layered structure of the forest itself. Using infrared and ultraviolet (UV) imaging to make the invisible visible, and through “lumen prints” that slowly fade throughout the duration of the exhibition, she places before the viewer’s eyes the transience and fragility of nature. Textile-based methods and approaches that push the boundaries of traditional photography lend the exhibition a haptic texture while simultaneously shifting the narrative onto a temporal plane.

One of the most poignant aspects of the exhibition is the encounter between ancient knowledge inherited from pre-Columbian cultures such as the Yumbo and Jama-Coaque and modern ecology. Focusing on intergenerational knowledge transmission, Romero reminds us of the profound respect our ancestors held for nature, emphasizing that the forest is not merely a collection of trees but a living space woven together with history and culture. On the brink of global ecological crises, this ancestral wisdom stands before us as a mirror of our collective responsibility.

Running at C/O Berlin until 28 January 2026, this visual feast invites us not so much to consider how a forest is built, but how we might once again forge a connection with nature. The frames filtered through Isadora Romero’s lens stand as a manifesto of our eco-responsibility and of nature’s silent yet powerful resistance.