PALMS IN PARADISE, PALMS AT HOME
An art exhibition focussing on LA’s relationship to palm trees.
For many who grew up in a place without palm trees, their image often garners a deeper significance than for those who grew up with them in their backyards. For me, they were far away and idyllic – the main subject of a kitsch postcard that humble-bragged to a friend “Wish You Were Here” in pink script font. They could be exciting like the bent ones in footage of hurricanes, or backdrops for scenes in Jurassic Park or Tarzan or Predator or The Jungle Book. Even the bearded castaway with his message in a bottle has the company of a palm tree on his little one-man island, which makes life a little more bearable. They are there, poolside on your vacations, and they are inherently good. However, for those who palm trees have no novelty, they are still good – but just regular, good trees.
Los Angeles’ image is intrinsically tied to palm trees. They are substitute for the skyscrapers most other metropolises boast. It is interesting to think about how only a single species of palm (California Fan Palm) is native to this state, and all of South-Western America. They were never destined to be this city’s signifier, yet one cannot imagine Los Angeles without the hundreds of species that now exist here. Beginning in the 18th century they arrived and were seen as the idyllic and exotic, but in 2017 Los Angeles, they are simply iconic. In a city of awe-struck newcomers and jaded veterans, they both stand out and blend in, depending on who is looking.
