Chora

Chora is part of the exhibition cycle The Poplar Conspiracy, the first act in a series of exhibitions centered around a single theme. The cycle is dedicated to three poplar trees that once grew near the old entrance to the gallery building. There were originally four poplars; three of them were cut down. After losing its companions, the remaining tree released unfertilized fluff.

Thinking about the felled poplars, I remembered a particular ability of trees, including poplars, to reproduce through root suckers. Their thin roots can spread several meters through the ground and sprout again as young trees just beginning their lives. Even a cut stump can produce such shoots: as long as it remains alive, it will continue trying to survive by any means possible, including creating these clones of itself.

The desire to survive, even in the most unfavorable conditions, is shared by all living beings, and trees are no exception. Neither is the ability to adapt to difficult environments.

In this installation, I create a space where the processes of growth, adaptation, and transformation can be observed. Young poplar shoots develop in unfamiliar conditions, attempting to establish themselves in a new environment. If they were to sprout again carrying the memory of having once been cut down, what strategies of protection might they choose? They might pretend to be another creature, something dangerous, or, conversely, something harmless and in need of protection; they might imitate another plant or even an animal.

The necessity of survival in a hostile environment changes people, animals, and all living beings. In this respect, poplars are no exception.