S E C R E T   G A R D E N


site-specific installation: ficus benghalensis (banyan tree),cow dung and rainwater

Sanskriti Kendra, New Delhi, India - 2003

In India in early 2003 I created a site-specific installation for a banyan tree.

Banyan trees, like those seen in the Calcutta Botanical Garden,

possess nearly 2,800 aerial roots measuring 330 metres in circumference.

These roots suggested a metaphor for all connections in the world.

The tree's branches, which grow perpendicular to the ground, slowly become roots.

These columns grow, making us aware of connections between two worlds,

that of the earth and the heavens.

I created a system of soil cones symbolizing the tree's future root growth,

inviting the viewer to participate in these future connections.

My goal was not to intervene but to help the tree and to participate in its life.

In a world where violence pervades, I felt a necessity to pronounce love towards the world.

The creation of these column-connections felt essential

not only to the tree's survival but our own.