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Whenever you consider timber in Hong Kong, nation parks usually come to thoughts, however not these scattered within the metropolis’s densely populated city areas.
However for unbiased researcher and illustrator Teresa Chan, it’s these road timber that the majority piqued her curiosity.
“I learn an article by anthropologist Laura Rival on the Huaorani tribe within the Amazon rainforest, which talked about how the indigenous individuals have a look at a tree and title it,” stated Chan, who has a background in ecology and anthropology.
“That is very associated to my expertise learning ecology. It’s actually exhausting to memorize the Latin names of vegetation. I don’t know why I can by no means keep in mind it.”
This received her excited about what these names she was making an attempt so exhausting to memorize meant to her.
After studying about the best way the indigenous individuals describe timber in line with their life experiences, she began doing the identical for the city setting she resides in.
Chan stated she selected to deal with road timber in Wan Chai as she has been residing within the district for round three years. Furthermore, it’s a place acquainted to most Hong Kong residents as it’s house to many authorities buildings, the place individuals go to make official paperwork, and the Hong Kong Conference and Exhibition Centre, which is the venue for a lot of large-scale occasions.
To take action, she joined excursions of Wan Chai and documented different individuals and her ideas in regards to the road timber within the district. She additionally dug via archives of newspapers and authorities paperwork to search out out the historical past of those timber.
Consolidating these findings, she got here up with the Wan Chai Tree Tour Map, which is a part of her venture titled “Art X Ecology & Anthropology《When Trees Cry in the City》” beneath the Cultural Masseur Pageant 2022 organized by Hong Kong Arts Centre. The map identifies road timber of significance alongside a path from Victoria Park to Harcourt Highway.
Chan famous that it may not be essential for most individuals to acknowledge whether or not a road tree is a ficus or a weeping fig, however it would possibly make extra sense for them to know that it was planted by a singer or the final governor of Hong Kong.
“For instance, there are these two timber in Wan Chai which can be situated shut to one another however rising properly. That is an ecologically distinctive phenomenon – since timber compete with one another for sources – so I named them The Buddy Timber,” she stated, referring to the Burmese Rosewood and Chinese language Hackberry at a bus cease close to the Hong Kong Central Library.
She additionally encourages different Hong Kong residents to take part by importing their reminiscences or emotions about any timber on the map to Instagram, whether or not within the type of pictures, drawing or writing.
“Totally different individuals have completely different interactions with the timber,” stated the researcher.
“I keep close to a wood furnishings retailer and at some point, I seen how the proprietor of the shop would deliver little vegetation to maintain a close-by tree firm within the day and maintain the vegetation again in his retailer when he closes. If I didn’t keep there, I might suppose that the little vegetation had been simply rising from the tree as a substitute of a deliberate human effort.”
Apart from the map, Chan can be holding an exhibition – titled “Leaf Craft Stories Exhibition” – and a collection of talks, workshops and tours as a part of the “Artwork X Ecology & Anthropology《When Timber Cry within the Metropolis》” venture on the Hong Kong Artwork Centre in Wan Chai from now to Sunday.
The exhibition showcases fallen leaf craft artworks and images with tales behind them.
“The Singing Tree [in the Wan Chai Tree Tour Map] was planted by US nation singer John Denver on the intersection between Wan Chai Highway and Johnston Highway within the Nineteen Nineties,” stated Chan.
She added that it’s rumored the late Hong Kong singer and actor Leslie Cheung was born across the space.
“So for one in all my earlier artworks, I picked up a leaf beneath a heritage tree close to the Mandarin Oriental lodge in Central and carved a portrait of Cheung, after which took it again to Wan Chai Highway to take photos,” she stated.
“I hope I can deliver some non secular significance again to Wan Chai with this leaf.”
Different images from the exhibition have a look at how a few of these road timber fall sufferer to individuals’s irresponsible disposal of takeaway bins.
Throughout the exhibition excursions, Chan will educate individuals how to have a look at the well being of a tree.
“On this place that we stay, there are such a lot of timber on the streets. I’m eager to discover what sort of relationships we will set up with them,” she stated.
Chan stated she hoped we will break the boundary between nature and tradition when taking a look at our surroundings.
“Once we speak about tree conservation in Hong Kong, the main target is commonly on managing timber which can be in peril of collapsing, or defending stone wall timber or heritage timber,” stated the anthropology grasp’s graduate from the Chinese language College of Hong Kong
“I feel we will focus extra on the human interplay with the timber and our feelings about them.”
Chan additionally inspired extra individuals to concentrate to the timber we stroll previous daily and look intently at their leaves and flowers.
“You’ll discover how all life is altering each minute and second, and this will likely assist together with your mindset,” she stated.
Take a look at the Wan Chai Tree Tour Map at https://wanchaitree.com/?lang=en.
Go to https://www.popticket.hk/en/event/when-trees-cry-in-the-city for extra info on the Leaf Craft Tales Exhibition and the talks, workshops and excursions which can be a part of the “Artwork X Ecology & Anthropology《When Timber Cry within the Metropolis》” venture.
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