Stories of a Tree

Stories of a TreeFollowing the trajectory of a single element — the eucalyptus tree — I seek to bring into being the storyline of a material and personal journey. Tracing the path of its historic migration from Australia to Cyprus, the story of the eucalyptus tree will track its place of origin and record the paths of its migration and the labouring practices that brought it into being. Alongside this, another story will unfold; intersecting with the journey of the tree, the personal travels and interactions of the author will be narrated. Interposing an additional layer to its material identity, the tree will become contingent to both place and person, immersing it in a newly situated materiality. The intersecting storylines act to recover the tree as an inert specimen of an invisible landscape, repositioning it in relation to human activity, place, and matter. This article re-embodies the invisible European seer through the personal narrative of the author.