Tree City / Cared Tree
Lillian Broeksmit

Lillian Broeksmit presented her work Ciudad arbolada / Arbol cuidado at the ´aceNITE on Wednesday, July 17th, 2024. A series of four two-dimensional paintings displayed as an installation in our studio’s Dialogue Space. During the four weeks that Lillian was working as resident, she developed a series of studies on the bark and roots of the Plantain (Platanus x acerifolia), a tree species present throughout the entire City of Buenos Aires.

STATEMENT FOR THE ARTWORK (by the artist)

32,351 plantain trees (Platanus x acerifolia) line the streets of Buenos Aires. They are hybrids, and therefore not native to Argentina or anywhere else. The plantain was imposed by urban planners in Buenos Aires as much as in Paris and London for its resistance to hostile city conditions: they grow fast, are easy to prune, and pull toxins out of the air without getting sick. But they also resist being boxed in on the pavement. Their huge roots break through concrete. They peel bark to grow even faster into the sun despite being trimmed every year. They are survivors. They will outlive all of us. But we hardly notice them when we walk in their shadow.