tree project

“Aftermath: Two Queer Artists Respond to Nuclear Spaces.”  Critical Landscapes , ed. Kristen Swenson and Emily Scott. University of California Press, 2015, p. 77-92. ( Download as PDF )

A Tree Lesson in Resilience This Camphor sapling is grown from the seed of a Hibaku Jumoku: the trees that survived the atomic bombing of  Hiroshima on 6th August 1945.  Scientists from the Manhattan Project had predicted that ‘Hiroshima will be barren of life and nothing will grow for 75 years’.  But in the spring of 1946, new shoots sprang up amongst the debris of the city. This surge of life gave hope to survivors of the atomic bomb and now provides us with a powerful reminder of the resilience of life. Germinated in the backyard of:  Mr Tan Yew Meng in  Oct 2013   Transplanted to CASS  grounds on 3 Jun 2015 Look at how beautiful they are! They are about 11 months old.  Corrie Tan

Hi Hiroshi, the Botanical Gardens has got back to me and put me in touch with a environmentalist, grant Pereira who is doing a lot of good work in South East Asia. He is adopting my hibaku and planting it in a garden that is frequented by college students. Am pleased as the word will spread about the hibaku and it's resilient nature. I will take a photographe and send it to you before the hibaku leaves my corridor. I Am relieved that my hibaku will find mother earth finally as i know it was suffering in the small earthen pot. Marianne Pereira