CIDADE JARDIM, 2024
duo Paisagens Móveis: Bárbara Lissa e Maria Vaz

In the Garden City, satin ties, leather handbags, stiletto heels, a microphone, a military band, and downcast children serve as supporting characters in a series of public events dedicated to the planting of tree saplings.

Over the decades, a particular image—featuring various heads of state, including a certain prince visiting Brazil—has been circulated in national newspapers and preserved in public archives. Such ceremonious acts reveal a disconnect both from the action itself and from the arboreal individuals involved, vaguely referred to as simply: “tree.”

 

In contrast to the recurrence of these symbolic gestures, hundreds of trees are, without ceremony, sacrificed in the name of roadways, events, and other urban projects. By identifying these vegetal beings and calling them by name, the histories of trees draw closer to those of a territory and its society.