"The Life of a Tea Tree"
Section MS10, Freya Spencer-Wood
Keywords: nature, landscape, set design
The Life of a Tea Tree explores the the cultural heritage of Jingmai Mountain from the perspective of the local tea tree. The installation reads from top to bottom and tells the story of a seed growing into a tree. As time passed and trees grew, the Blang community gradually emerged. The community inhabits Jingmai Mountain and champion their own culture and dialect. The embroidered artwork references eye-like patterns and symbols found in Blang tradition, as well as spirituality and rituals orientating around the scared tea tree. The circular forms placed on the ground allude to the fact that culture is generated from stories of the land.
Jingmai Mountain successfully gained World Heritage status in China this year and is the first heritage site in the world that celebrates the culture of the tea tree.
Black, red and cyan are colours that the Blang community believe in. Traditional clothing and sacrificial utensils often incorporate these colours, while wool is a commonly-used material. The texture of wool is similar to that of the mountain's flora and fauna. The artwork has two sides: the front and back, reflecting the duality of culture. When culture is unfamiliar, our perspectives can be one-sided.