Residency at the Orto Botanico di Palermo
Botanical Genealogies is a creative examination of the cultural history of trees in the Orto Botanico dell'università di Palermo. During my month-long residency, I focused on trees in the collection that were tied to the cultural and economic history of Palermo and Sicily, such as the ficus and citrus collections, in addition to coffee, bamboo, and ceiba, plants that were utilized for economic opportunity in Sicily during the last century. My paintings are accompanied by materials collected from the garden – the leaves of the bamboo and dragon’s blood tree, and the white fluffy fibers of the ceiba tree. Experienced together, the portraits and installation point to the plant's cultural, social, and economic history in Sicily.
You can learn more about the Orto Botanico here, and see past daily updates on my instagram feed.
