The Hybrid Tree
Project Statement
The idea for this project came when I read Ovid's poem telling the story of Daphne and Apollo in “Metamorphoses”. Daphne turns into a tree to escape Apollo's overflowing love. She implores her father: “this body, which seduces too much, curse it by transforming it”. The weight of other people's expectations on her body is too much. She chooses to metamorphose to free herself from this human form. I examine this myth from a modern perspective, taking into account the climate emergency and our social transformation.
The idea for this project came when I read Ovid's poem telling the story of Daphne and Apollo in “Metamorphoses”. Daphne turns into a tree to escape Apollo's overflowing love. She implores her father: “this body, which seduces too much, curse it by transforming it”. The weight of other people's expectations on her body is too much. She chooses to metamorphose to free herself from this human form. I examine this myth from a modern perspective, taking into account the climate emergency and our social transformation.
Pistacia Lentiscus main & ciel , Barcelona 2023
|
This visual & performative artistic project aims to give a voice to the trees and to propose a better coexistence between humans and other living species. In the form of an artistic performance combining film photography, drawing and videos, I transform myself into a “hybrid tree”, half-human, half-tree. This transmutation aims to express our belonging to the living and to re-imagine our place in the intertwining of life on Earth.
Perhaps by imagining the transmutation of our own body into other animals or plants, we could take better care of ourselves and the planet?
Perhaps by imagining the transmutation of our own body into other animals or plants, we could take better care of ourselves and the planet?
Croquis pour "L'arbre hybride", ficus macrophylla, Lisbonne 2023
|
Nurturing an imaginative body, the hybrid tree, is a process that invites fresh perspectives and encourages new narratives to emerge. By envisaging possible futures on earth through the multiplicity of life's intimate experiences, art becomes a means of building ecological awareness and enabling us to reimagine our place in the world.
Main et hêtre "L'arbre hybride", Pyrénées 2023
|
Croquis et auto-portrait pour "L'arbre hybride", Plante Hybride 1, Phaseolus vulgaris, Vendée, 2023
|
|
Prior to each performance, I conduct extensive research on the tree that I will be embodying. I converse with the tree, seeking to understand its unique qualities, and analyse the points of agreement and difference between us. Through this project, I seek to draw attention to the vital role of trees in our world and inspire others to take action to protect and preserve our natural environment.
|
|
Celtis Australis, Croquis, 2023
|
Songs for "Hybrid Tree"