Tale of a Tree

Vera Tamari is a Palestinian artist, educator, and curator born in 1945 to a creative Jerusalem household. 

Tamari celebrated the endurance of the Palestinian people through this sculptural installation, Tale of a Tree (2002), which included 660 tiny clay trees and a photo transfer print on Plexiglas. 

At the time of this installation, Israeli forces were destroying olive groves en masse to make way for the construction of the Apartheid Wall: as the barrier separating Israel from the West Bank is known among Palestinians. 

She produced hundreds of small olive trees in clay as a healing act while uttering within: “For every uprooted tree, I will create a new one!”    

She painted her fragile trees in bright pastel colors as a gesture of hope.