Petrified Trees

Are they still alive?

By Eastern African Museum of Art Nairobi (EAMAN)

Lamu Town 15 (2021) by Olga Kisseleva, James Mweu, and James MuriukiOriginal Source: https://eaman.org/

The Turkana Basin

... in the northern part of the Kenyan Rift Valley is a unique natural archive of flora and fauna from the Miocene to Holocene epochs. When the Rift Valley formed, the environmental and ground conditions allowed for the preservation of certain plants and animal matter.

Turkwel River (2022) by Olga Kisseleva, James Mweu, and James MuriukiEastern African Museum of Art Nairobi (EAMAN)

Geological interactions

Present-day paleontologists and paleobotanists are able to read and restore the sequence of geological events and their interactions in the past.

Their work, discoveries, and insights into the history of life on Earth inspired the "Listening to the Rift Valley Project" to explore artistic representations of the connections between people and nature in Eastern Africa.

Scientific measurements’ technologies 3 (2021) by Olga Kisseleva, James Mweu, and James MuriukiOriginal Source: https://eaman.org/

The use of sensors to capture signals from an age-old petrified tree inspired the performance BEING TIME and created a new dimension in our interaction with our past.

Petrified trees and the age-old Turkana desert

Dr. Rahab Kinyanjui narrates the story of the petrified forest of Turkana.

Turkana Petrified Forest (2022) by Olga Kisseleva, James Mweu, and James MuriukiEastern African Museum of Art Nairobi (EAMAN)

A petrified tree in the modern landscape of Turkana

A fossilised tree stump stands out in the Napudet hills, where it was growing about 12 million years ago.

Turkana Petrified Forest (2022) by Olga Kisseleva, James Mweu, and James MuriukiEastern African Museum of Art Nairobi (EAMAN)

A fossilised tree melting into the landscape of Turkana

Barely rising above the surface, a 12 million-years-old fossilised tree stump in Turkana, Kenya.

Turkana Petrified Forest (2022) by Olga Kisseleva, James Mweu, and James MuriukiEastern African Museum of Art Nairobi (EAMAN)

Still a tree or already a rock?

Rock debris and siltation engulfed what was a living tree about 12 million years ago, Turkana basin, Kenya.

Turkana Landscapes, Petrified Forest 3 (2021) by Olga Kisseleva, James Mweu, and James MuriukiOriginal Source: https://eaman.org/

Petrified trees stand guard in the Turkana desert

Against the rocks of the Turkana desert stands a fossilized tree stump, about 12 million years old, a window into the prehistoric life of the Rift Valley.

Turkana Landscapes, Petrified Forest 1 (2021) by Olga Kisseleva, James Mweu, and James MuriukiOriginal Source: https://eaman.org/

A fossilised forest connects us to the origins of life

Credits: Story

Petrified forests (2021)

Authors: Olga Kisseleva, James Muriuki
Photographer: Ian Kathurima Kinyua (SwiftLab), James Muriuki, Margaret Ngigi
Video editing: James Muriuki, Emmaus Kimani, Federico Debetto
Curator: James Muriuki
Project & Technical Coordinator: Emmaus Kimani
Project Director: Maria Amelina

Commissioned, co-created and co-produced by EAMAN

Participation of the TURKANA BASIN INSTITUTE and Dr. Rahab Kinyanjui are gratefully acknowledged.

Listening to The Rift Valley Project: https://eaman.org

Credits: All media

The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

Eastern African Museum of Art Nairobi (EAMAN)

Stories from Eastern African Museum of Art Nairobi (EAMAN)

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