The wicker art installation Présences was created for the Pôle Land Art Départemental / Ferme de Chosal in 2021. Commissioned by the PLAD and Annecy Paysages, the environmental artwork was produced on-site with Chosal technicians, ESAT workers, and local volunteers.
Following an initial meeting with the organic farm, nature trail, and petting zoo staff and crew of handicapped workers, the artist photographed participants in posed intended to evoke the experience of flying or swimming through open space. The photographed silhouettes were then digitally enlarged and translated into welded steel armatures measuring 180 x 94 cm, 280 x 65 cm, 380 x 122 cm, 340 x 222 cm, and 180 x 73 cm. At the same time, workers busily harvested and prepared local wicker growing on-site for use in the installation. During a second visit to Chosal in June, Ozga worked with participants to weave wicker on the metal armatures with modern basketry techniques learned during her time with the Wiklina artist collective in Poland.
The finished pieces were installed along the Sentier Art Nature at the Ferme de Chosal, a member of the Interstices network. Shown above the level of the pedestrian walkway, the silhouettes appear to float in the air among the trees in the forest, inviting viewers to imagine a world beyond the boundaries of gravity and expected attitudes and behaviors in public space.