Artful Migration – Coulson & Tennant
Over the past few months, Colin and I have been immersed in the temperate rainforest of Dumfries and Galloway as part of the Artful Migration residency — a slow, winter-led exploration of some of Scotland’s most fragile and overlooked habitats.
Our time has been spent moving between four small rainforest sites, returning again and again through the winter months. Rather than chasing spectacle, we’ve been paying attention to rhythm: the pace of short days, the quiet persistence of mosses and lichens, the way light settles differently in December than it does in February. Through film and photography, we’ve been trying to understand what winter does in these places — how it shapes the forest, and how the forest responds.
Working alongside us throughout the residency has been Stephen Rutt, naturalist and writer, whose presence has added a vital collaborative layer to the project. While Colin and I have been responding visually through film and photography, Stephen has been reflecting on his experience of the rainforest through words — walking with us, sharing observations, and helping to articulate what it means to spend time within these landscapes, particularly during the winter months.
Alongside our time in the forest, all three of us have been reading The Lost Rainforest of Britain by Guy Shrubsole, a book that has shaped many of our conversations and ways of looking. Shrubsole reminds us just how rare temperate rainforest is — rarer, in fact, than tropical rainforest — covering only around 1% of the Earth’s surface. Much of what once existed in Britain has been lost or fragmented, making the remaining pockets all the more precious.
One of the defining features of temperate rainforest, Shrubsole explains, is the presence of epiphytes: plants that grow on other plants. These are not parasites, but organisms that use trees as scaffolding, absorbing moisture and nutrients from the rain, mist and damp air around them. In Britain, epiphytes most commonly appear as lichens, bryophytes — a grouping that includes mosses and liverworts — and ferns. The more of these you see coating branches or climbing tree trunks, the more likely it is that you are standing in a rainforest.
Winter has been an especially revealing time to notice this. With fewer leaves on the trees, epiphytes come into sharper focus: draped, clustered, quietly luminous against dark bark. They slow you down and reward close attention. Much of our work during the residency has been about making space for these quieter presences — the small-scale abundance that defines these habitats but is so often overlooked.
Together, we’ve been developing a deeper understanding of the temperate rainforest as a living system — resilient, yet acutely vulnerable. Spending long, cold days within these forests has sharpened our awareness of how much depends on care, continuity and attention, and how our creative practices might sit within that wider ecological context.
The residency has been as much about listening as it has been about making. Long walks, damp boots, cold fingers, and conversations that unfold slowly over time have all fed into the work. And, of course, no winter residency would be complete without the essential ritual of eating large amounts of cake — vital fuel for days spent under dripping canopies, and a reminder that warmth, joy and shared moments matter too.
As the days begin to lengthen and winter slowly loosens its grip, we’re starting to look ahead to what comes next. Spring will bring sound and movement back into the forest, and with it the return of migratory birds that depend on these habitats. We’re especially excited for the arrival of the pied flycatcher, the wood warbler and the redstart — three species that travel north each year to begin their breeding season here in Scotland.
Their return feels like another shift in the rhythm we’ve been listening to all winter. As Artful Migration moves into the lighter months, we’re looking forward to continuing this slow attention, following the forest as it changes, and responding to these new presences as they arrive.
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