Detroit Tree of Heaven Healing Center: Photograph

The Detroit Tree of Heaven Woodshop was founded in 2005 in order to explore what it means, both practically and symbolically, to see a plant that has become synonymous with urban blight as a sustainable crop rather than a weed. As one part of this ongoing conceptual art project, the group uses an informal network of craftspeople to create objects from the tree of heaven, including functional objects like turned-wood vessels and benches. They also create exhibitions for galleries and museums that use the tree of heaven as subject for poetic photographs, videos, and installations.

The group used part of its funding in order to purchase a vacant lot in Detroit, on which it established its first Tree of Heaven Farm by planting seedlings in the beds of protective planters made of car tires.  The group expects the trees to be ready for harvest in 2049, and until that time have pledged to maintain the land as a long-term work of public art. This piece chronicles their intentions and actions during the project by displaying associated elements and documentation of the farm: a large photograph framed in tree of heaven wood; 40 letter-sized frames made of tree of heaven wood; a selection of writings, maps, images, drawings, and other materials to display in those frames; and a stencil with which to create the Detroit Tree of Heaven logo directly onto the Smart Museum’s walls.