A Monumental Forest Installation Celebrating 100 Years of Chanel N°5 for Miami Art Week

In celebration of 100 years of CHANEL N°5, FIVE ECHOES, a sculptural installation by artist Es Devlin, has been commissioned by CHANEL to honor the iconic fragrance’s rich history. This installation has transformed Miami Design District’s Jungle Plaza into a temporary forest, as a synesthetic translation of the fragrance.

Free and open to the public from November 30 through December 21, 2021, the installation of trees surrounding a labyrinth, is animated by light and sound. One Tree Planted, in partnership with Million Trees Miami, is honored to replant this forest of over 1,000 plants, shrubs, and trees in parks throughout Miami-Dade County.

Growing up in the Abbey of Abazine, Coco Chanel was surrounded by forests, with CHANEL N°5 becoming a fragrant expression of her deep connection to nature. CHANEL N°5 was informed by her sensory history and incorporates the essences of over 20 plants.

ES Devlin's Five Echoes and Past Works

In celebration of its launch 100 years ago, Es Devlin draws on the origins of the labyrinth as an ancient Greek initiation dance connecting humans with the earth. FIVE ECHOES aims to remind us of the symbiotic connection between ourselves and our surrounding forest. Visitors engage their senses of sight, smell, and sound as they retrace the winding dance route through the five concentric pathways of the labyrinth. 

Es Devlin says: “The word labyrinth originally referred to human movement: it was a dance before it became architecture. If our behavior can define our architecture, then perhaps our art and architecture can alter our behavior. If works of art can help us to see ourselves as part of the biosphere and symbiotically fused with it, if we can start to see plants and animals as equal protagonists as ourselves in life, I believe we have a better chance of making the fundamental behavioral shifts that are necessary not only to avoid climate chaos, but also to live in a more just, equitable, and joyful way."

Devlin is recognized internationally for creating large-scale art installations and performances, shifting perspectives, and amazing visitors alike. Her recent project FOREST FOR CHANGE at Somerset House in London invited visitors to engage with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. For CONFERENCE OF THE TREES at COP 26, the UN Climate Change Conference this November, she installed 197 trees as protagonists bearing witness to the decisions 197 countries might make about the future of the planet. FOREST OF US, which opened at Superblue Miami earlier this year, encourages viewers to feel the symbiotic symmetry between the tree-like bronchial structures within our lungs and the trees around us. 

In Partnership With One Tree Planted and Million Trees Miami

The trees planted as part of the FIVE ECHOES project will capture and store approximately 8 tons of carbon annually, and more than 120 tons over the next 10 years as they grow. Once mature, the trees will also capture up to 650,000 gallons of rain annually, protecting Biscayne Bay from polluted stormwater runoff. 

All of the trees, understory plants, and grasses used in this project will be planted at Miami-Dade County parks, including Camp Matecumbe Park and Gwen Cherry Park, among others as needed. These parks were selected based on the unique growing conditions of each of the native tree species used in the project.

One Tree Planted has deployed a series of temperature loggers throughout Jungle Plaza to study the impacts of trees in cooling our urban environments. Cities can be up to 20°F hotter than their surrounding environments- known as the "urban heat island effect". By studying the temperature at Jungle Plaza as part of the FIVE ECHOES temporary forest installation, we can better understand how planting trees and forests in urban areas can protect healthy, livable cities from the worst impacts of a changing climate.

Sustainability and positive environmental impact were key design criteria for the making of FIVE ECHOES. While the temporary forest will be replanted, all other components of the labyrinth will be repurposed and recycled. Working together to source, plant, care for, and ultimately replant the trees following the work's conclusion, One Tree Planted, and Million Trees Miami built on CHANEL Mission 1.5°, to tackle climate change.

Want to do your part in tackling climate change as well? Plant trees with us today!