The Enchantment Of The Forest Of Oma
One of the most curious and charming areas belonging to the Basque cultural heritage is, without a doubt, the Oma Forest. This colorful grove is an extraordinary and unique artistic work in the middle of nature. It is located in Vizcaya, in Busturiadea, inside the Urdaibai Biosphere Nature Reserve, whose importance reaches such a nature that it was proclaimed a protected area by Unesco in 1984.
The Forest of Oma : an artistic work
Agustín Ibarrola, the mind behind this unusual creation
The extensive pine forest occupied by the Oma Forest was adorned by the artist Agustín Ibarrola with the intention of giving new connotations to this space. In this way, by using trees as cylindrical supports, he sought to transform the way in which visitors relate to this natural environment.
The one who was a member of Group 57 retired to a hamlet near Oma and, having contemplated this garden as if it were a blank canvas, set about imaginatively decorating it with different colors, shapes and icons.
This creation plays with perspective and three-dimensionality and is framed within the trend popularly known as Land Art, which was born in the United States in the 1960s. This style is based on using the terrestrial landscape creating works in it. exposed to the elements and that, therefore, will be lost with the passage of time.
The artists of this current interact directly with the products of the earth, whether with wood, stones and even with the wind on some occasions. In this case, the usual and characteristic atmosphere of any grove is magically transformed thanks to the incorporation of the artist’s brushstrokes.
A forest of colors
During the journey, the visitor will come across dozens of drawings and paintings that have been added to the bark of the trunk of the trees that make up a certain area of the forest. While some are simple lines or geometric figures in shades of white, others show figures of people or animals.
On the other hand, it also has trees only decorated with combinations of colors and with beautiful shades. However, the most stimulating part of the visit is the attempt to find those drawings that together recreate a composition and that only make sense when we look at them from afar.
This artistic attraction can be very interesting for hikers who want a change of scenery since they are usually used to walking through areas that only dominate the green and brown usual in the countryside.
Similarly, it is also highly recommended for families with children to have an adventure. The smallest of the house will be able to run freely among these works of art, approach them and even hug them at will.
The artistic theme of the Oma Forest
On our tour of this striking area we will come across trees decorated in a very different way. It could be said that the representations are divided into three sectors.
If we follow the recommended itinerary at the entrance, the first thing we will see will be elements dedicated to the recreation of modern and avant-garde pictorial techniques such as pointillism and minimalism.
Once this segment is over, we will have before us an exhibition in homage to nature itself, which has offered the goods that have been used as canvas. There we will see figures of animals such as birds or deer. Of course, all of them designed in a certain totemic style. They will be accompanied by representations of natural concepts such as lightning.
However, this is not all, and it is that, along the path, from time to time, we will verify that there are certain human forms located that do not correspond to any of the previous groups. These drawings are interspersed with the rest of the works of art, making up the most personal piece that Agustín Ibarrola has dedicated to this forest-museum.
