D is for Doris.
How did a previously multitalented, popular kind of street tree become an invasive species?
This project throws question onto the concept of “invasiveness”, of both a species to a place and one culture to another. Through the journey of Callery Pear, a popular street tree in the United States, especially in New York City, once intentionally imported yet now judged as invasive species, the arrogant human-centric narrative is revealed. Given that Callery Pear is native to China and Vietnam, the ecological reflection further makes a socio-cultural allegory, criticizing the cultural hegemony and white supremacy in the present US society.
The posters capture scenes where Callery pear trees coexist with non-English elements in Downtown Manhattan, featuring the big alert of invading aliens and a tiny, instruction of elimination in the three most commonly used languages in New York City. These flyer-posters, intended to be scattered everywhere for distribution, make up an ominous story about the looming “aliens”.
This project throws question onto the concept of “invasiveness”, of both a species to a place and one culture to another. Through the journey of Callery Pear, a popular street tree in the United States, especially in New York City, once intentionally imported yet now judged as invasive species, the arrogant human-centric narrative is revealed. Given that Callery Pear is native to China and Vietnam, the ecological reflection further makes a socio-cultural allegory, criticizing the cultural hegemony and white supremacy in the present US society.
The posters capture scenes where Callery pear trees coexist with non-English elements in Downtown Manhattan, featuring the big alert of invading aliens and a tiny, instruction of elimination in the three most commonly used languages in New York City. These flyer-posters, intended to be scattered everywhere for distribution, make up an ominous story about the looming “aliens”.
The original posters were printed using a mix of laser and riso printing. Finally presented here is a set of four, but with riso printing, potentially, there can be far more different mix-and-match of text and image, providing an inexhaustible plurality to the cultural metaphor behind this image-making approach. The digital re-processing of the printed copies further adds to the layers of the narrative and renders uneasy and unstable characteristics.
