In Japanese mythology, tiny spirits called kodama are said to inhabit the oldest trees of the forest, guarding their health and infusing their surroundings with vitality. They are often depicted as ethereal, childlike figures that appear as faint, glowing points of light, and are only visible to select individuals. Kodama serve as reminders of the interdependence between humans and forests—like these tree spirits, humanity depends on these ancient ecosystems to survive. Cindy Mochizuki’s artistic practice contends with the mutability of memory and gaps in the historical record, often calling upon that which is invisible but present. Her projects, which can take such forms as performance, animation, puppetry, theatre, audio works, and ceramics, draw upon oral histories and archival material in tandem with imaginary creatures and spirit-worlds to propose new modes of storytelling. With Arboreal Time, Mochizuki conjures a timid but curious community of hand-sculpted porcelain kodama above the Gibson’s central hearth. She invites visitors to suspend their disbelief to imagine that a gathering space around an art museum’s fireplace could in fact become a shadowy forest glade.  

Arboreal Time was commissioned at the Gibson’s completion as a special semi-permanent installation. While artworks in the surrounding galleries shift with each exhibition season, Arboreal Time remains constant, inviting a slower cadence of encounter and built familiarity through the possibility of multiple return visits. The work draws the forests of Burnaby Mountain, with their suspended temporality and eons-old stories—into the heart of the art museum.